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Allergen exposure in laboratory animal care workers
Thesis

Allergen exposure in laboratory animal care workers

Joshua T. Glueck
Master of Public Health (M.P.H.), Drexel University
Jun 2011
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/etd-3598
pdf
Glueck_Joshua_20111.88 MB
PDF Access upon request, Email title, URL, or DOI to archives@drexel.edu

Abstract

Allergens Laboratory Animals Laboratory Workers Public Health
Background: The number of workers exposed to animals or animal products in US range from 40,000 to 2 million. Urine is the main source of allergenic proteins in rats and mice and as this urine is aerosolized to form particles, it can enter into the respiratory tract. Little is known about levels and determinants of these exposures in USA. Objective: To investigate the relationship between features of work (tasks, exposure controls in place, type and number of animals cared for) in animal rearing facilities and levels of personal dust and allergen exposures. Methods: Personal air sampling during their 8-hour work shift for the 5-day work week was performed on each worker. Filter samples were weighed for dust content both before and after sampling; dust was assessed for presence of mice and rat urinary allergens via immunoassay. The activities of the sampled laboratory animal workers were observed throughout the sampling shifts. Each participant was questioned about tasks they performed that day. The methods of preventing exposure to allergens were recorded each day. Exposure levels were related to characteristics of workplace and work's activities in statistical analysis. Results: Only 30 dust measurements were usable for total dust analysis, but all 39 samples were analyzed for the allergens. Personal dust exposures had geometric mean (GM) 0.2 mg/m3 and wide variability: geometric standard deviation (GSD) of 4.9 with most of variability related to differences in work from day-to-day. Only for duration of one of the studied tasks was there a suggestion of a positive association with exposure to dust: "moving cages". The lowest dust exposures were seen among persons who performed "set-up" tasks (GM= 0.08 mg/m3). Sanitation was likewise associated with reduced dustiness, most likely due to the fact that this is a cleaning task that is only performed by wiping rooms with sanitation liquids. Feeding and watering the animals is associated with a three-fold increase in personal exposure (GM=0.21 mg/m3) compared to other tasks (GM=0.03 mg/m3). Analyses of associations of work features with exposure to allergens suggest that number of rats/mice is related to level of respective allergens in the air and that workers performing cage wash tasks undergo higher exposures to allergens than other tasks. Conclusions: Further research should be performed to better determine the important pathways that cause personal exposures of laboratory animal workers in and to continuously evaluate effectiveness of exposure control measures in place.

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