Hardwood dust

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The term hardwood dust is used for dusts from hardwoods that arise in particular when processing these woods. The dust from beech and oak wood has been shown to cause cancer of the nasal mucous membrane in humans .

Hardwood dust occurs particularly when sawing , milling , drilling and sanding (including parquet floors ).

Technical rules

According to the Technical Rules for Hazardous Substances 905 (TRGS 905 - List of Carcinogenic, Mutagenic or Reproductive Substances), beech or oak wood dust belongs to category 1 (substances that cause cancer in humans, proven carcinogenic effect). Other wood dusts are classified in category 3 (substances which give cause for concern due to insufficient information, possible carcinogenic effects). An occupational illness of a carcinoma of the nose or sinuses caused by beech or oak wood dust is a recognized occupational disease (main group IV, BK 4203).

The TRGS 553 (wood dust) in Germany gives recommendations for all activities in the treatment and processing of wood and wood-based materials that generate wood dust, as well as for activities in the danger area of ​​wood dust. In principle, the wood dust load at workplaces must be kept as low as possible. The air limit value ( technical reference concentration ) for wood dust is 2 mg · m −3 as an inhalable dust fraction. If the air limit value is exceeded, respiratory protection must be worn.

History

It has been known since 1965 that wood dust can trigger adenocarcinoma of the paranasal sinuses.

Carcinogenic effect

The mechanism by which hardwood dust can cause nasal mucosal cancer is largely unexplained. Obviously, when processing hardwood, wood additives such as chromates , lindane , PCP and formaldehyde sometimes play an important role in the development of cancer. It is therefore now assumed that hardwood dust is not the only cause of these cancers.

Morbidity

From 1985 to 1998, the Holz- Berufsgenossenschaft in Germany recognized 147 cancers caused by wood dust as an occupational disease.

Further dangers

  • Wood dust has been shown to cause asthma .
  • Wood dust can form explosive mixtures with air.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Pfister EA, Cancer as an Occupational Disease , University of Magdeburg ( Memento from June 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ a b TRGS 553 - wood dust. (PDF; 145 kB) BAuA , August 2008, accessed on August 2, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Wolf J et al .: The role of combination effects on the etiology of malignant nasal tumors in the wood-working industry. In: Acta Otolaryngol Suppl. , 535/1998, pp. 1-16. PMID 9725790 .
  4. ↑ Klein RG et al .: Carcinogenicity assays of wood dust and wood additives in rats exposed by long-term inhalation. In: Int Arch Occup Environ Health. , 74/2001, pp. 109-118. PMID 11317703 .
  5. ↑ Holz-Berufsgenossenschaft, New Findings on Wood Dust ( Memento from November 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), from March 26, 2001
  6. ↑ Wood dust and occupational asthma ( Memento June 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive ). California Department of Health Services (English, PDF; 535 kB).
  7. ↑ Chan-Yeung M .: Mechanism of occupational asthma due to western red cedar (Thuja plicata) . In: American Journal of Industrial Medicine . tape 25 , no. 1 , 1994, ISSN  0271-3586 , p. 13-18 , PMID 8116639 .
  8. ↑ Health & Safety Executive, Wood dust: hazards and precautions ( Memento of the original dated December 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hse.gov.uk

literature

  • K. Innos et al .: Wood dust exposure and cancer incidence: a retrospective cohort study of furniture workers in Estonia. In: Am J Ind Med , 37/2000, pp. 501-511. PMID 10723044 .
  • BA Miller et al .: Extended mortality follow-up among men and women in a US furniture workers union. In: Am J Ind Med , 25/1994, pp. 537-549. PMID 8010296 .
  • J. Bornholdt et al .: Inflammatory response and genotoxicity of seven wood dusts in the human epithelial cell line A549. In: Mutat Res , 632/2007, pp. 78-88. PMID 17590384 .
  • A. Meola: Toxic Effects of Wood Dust Exposure. In: Professional Safety , March 1985.

Web links