Determining occupational exposure to inhalable wood dust in motor manual felling and processing

ABSTRACT

The occupational exposure to softwood and hardwood wood dust was determined during forestry work in timber stands. In the determination of inhalable wood dust, three tree species (Fagus sylvatica, Quercus sp. and Pinus brutia) and three chainsaw operating parameters were taken into account (in total six assessment indicators). The first operating parameter was the chainsaw operating under normal conditions (regular chain sharpening). The second and third operating parameters were improper chainsaw maintenance (irregular chain sharpening) and low throttling pressing (operating the chainsaw at low engine speeds), respectively. The determination of inhalable wood dust concentrations from the ambient air was performed using the Inhalable Organic Matter (IOM) sampler, manufactured by SKC Button Sampler (Dorset, United Kingdom). Out of a total of 108 concentration cases of inhalable wood dust, 44 (40.74%) showed concentrations greater than 3.00 mg·m⁻³, while in 10 (9.26%) cases, the dust concentration exceeded 5 mg·m⁻³. The eight-hour time-weighted average exposure to wood dust ranged from 0.99 mg·m⁻³ to 12.52 mg·m⁻³, with an average of 4.22 mg·m⁻³. The results indicated that the increase in wood dust concentration was dependent on improper chainsaw maintenance, while low throttling pressing reduces dust concentration levels. Additionally, an increase in wood dust concentration was observed in species with thick bark (Pinus brutia and Quercus petraea).

KEYWORDS:

• Timber harvesting
• PM 2.5-10
• air pollution
• limit

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their sincere gratitude for their cooperation with the members of the forest cooperatives in the Prefecture of Derio-Dadia-Loutron, Northeast Greece. This synergy between the forest cooperatives and academia contributed to a great extent to the implementation of the current research project. We hope that the research will contribute to the existing body of knowledge and raise awareness among forest managers.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.