Abstract
Sand-based products are regularly used as footing material on indoor equestrian arenas, creating a potential occupational exposure risk for respirable crystalline silica (RCS) for equestrian workers training and exercising horses in these environments. The objective of this study was to evaluate an equestrian worker’s personal RCS and respirable dust (RD) exposure. Sixteen personal full-shift RD measurements were collected from an equestrian worker and analysed for RD, quartz and cristobalite. Geometric mean exposures of 0.12 mg m−3 and 0.02 mg m−3 were calculated for RD and RCS concentrations, respectively. RCS exposures of between 0.01 to 0.09 mg m−3 were measured on days when the indoor arena surface was not watered, compared to lower exposures (<LOD-0.03 mg m−3) on days when the indoor arena was watered (p < 0.01); however, manual watering is time intensive and less likely to be implemented in practice. This small-scale study provides new data on RCS and RD exposures among equestrian workers. RCS exposures are within the range considered to be associated with increased risk for lung cancer. The use of dust control solutions such as water suppression should be promoted for equestrian work in horse riding arenas. Equestrian workers need to receive occupational health training on the health risks associated with RCS exposure.
Highlights
The use of sand, animal feed and bedding materials can create dusty work environments for equestrian workers that tend to have a higher risk for respiratory conditions such as organic dust toxic syndrome, and bronchitis symptoms, if their work is indoors [1,2,3]
Potential exposure risks from airborne pollutants including inhalable and respirable organic dusts, microorganisms, endotoxins and β-Glucans have been evaluated among equestrian workers [4,5,6]; less is known about exposures to inorganic dusts, such as respirable crystalline silica (RCS)
The objective of this study was to characterise respirable dust (RD) and RCS exposures among equestrian workers working in an Irish equestrian centre
Summary
The use of sand, animal feed and bedding materials can create dusty work environments for equestrian workers that tend to have a higher risk for respiratory conditions such as organic dust toxic syndrome, and bronchitis symptoms, if their work is indoors [1,2,3]. To the authors’ knowledge, there has been just one published study, which reported on horse trainers’ RCS exposures, as part of a lung cancer case report [9]. It was reported that the trainer had worked for 23 years in the sector, training 7–12 horses per day on longeing arenas covered with recycled sands. Limited by the collection of just three exposure measurements (one area and two personal samples), 8 h time weighted average (TWA) exposure estimates for the personal
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