Occupational exposure to aerosols and bioaerosols in poultry farms

Abstract

The poultry sector in Pakistan is playing an important role in bridging the gap between the supply and demand for protein and has a significant contribution of 1.3% in national GDP. However, concerns about emissions from these facilities are also increasing. The present study was aimed to characterize Particulate Matter (PM) in poultry farms. Indoor and outdoor of 18 poultry houses were visited and categoriesed into three groups based on the age of birds: Group I (1-20 days), Group II (21-30 days) Group III (31-40 days). PM and gaseous concentrations were monitored using low-cost sensor Dylos 1700 and Aeroquals 500 series respectively. It was noticed the average PM and gaseous concentrations usually increased with the age and activity of the birds as compared to non-activity time of the birds. The results of PM and gaseous concentrations were statistically analyzed for One-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation. A significant difference was recorded in PM and gaseous concentrations among the groups. A positive correlation was found among various parameters such as PM and gaseous concentrations except in a few places. Chemical characterization of air was carried out along with feed and litter samples and 28 metals were analysed by Induced Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). It was noticed that the amount of all metals was high in the feed and was reflecting in the litter and air samples except for few metals. A non-significant difference was present in the concentrations of different metals among the groups. The results of feed and litter were reported in mg/kg and air in µg/m3 respectively. The characterization of bioaerosols was carried out in air and litter samples using both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. It was noticed that microbial count increased with the age of the birds and outdoor of these farms had low microbial count as compared to

iv indoor. Several of the fungi species that was found outdoor not observed in the indoor air samples. The pulmonary health of farm workers was also assessed by using a spirometer MDX Instruments USA and a structured questionnaire was also used. On the basis of performed spirometry, 68 (86 %) of workers were found normal and healthy while 11 (14 %) had a mild obstruction. The findings suggest that lung function capacity was directly related to years of working experience. 86% normal value and questionnaire suggests healthy survivor effect. It was concluded in the study that the poultry facilities are rich source of emissions that increased with the age of birds and Low-cost sensors can inform the health conditions of these facilities. Further studies should plan for abatement techniques that work for the control of dust and gaseous emissions at the source level.