Exposure Assessment of Smoke and Biogenic Silica Fibers During Sugar Cane Harvesting in Hawaii

Abstract

Abstract Agricultural burning is a worldwide practice performed to reduce trash and pest infestation after the crops are harvested. Although this function is economically beneficial, the large quantities of smoke potentially expose not only the farm workers but also any surrounding communities. Characterization of this smoke is difficult, and there are few published reports on this topic. Unique to the sugar cane industry is the practice of burning the crop before harvesting. This not only produces smoke but also creates a considerable potential for worker exposure to the ash during the harvesting operations. A previous study had characterized workers' exposures to biogenic silicate fibers during manual harvesting of sugar cane in Florida. In Hawaii, contrary to practice in Florida, all cane is mechanically harvested. An exploratory survey was performed in Hawaii for the purpose of evaluating the feasibility of using gravimetric particulates, organic and elemental carbon, total elemental profiles, polycyc...