Occupational exposure to fungal and actinomycete spores during the handling of wood chips

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Abstract
Concentrations of airborne spores of fungi and actinomycetes were investigated from 20 samples collected during the handling of wood chips by using a six-stage fractionating impactor (Andersen sampler). Ten samples were taken on wood chip piles or beside the chip conveyor belts of cellulose factories, and ten samples were taken beside chip conveyor belts in central heating plants of saw mills. The spore exposure level varied from 103 to 106 cfu/m3 air. Wood chips used for cellulose production released large numbers of mesophilic and thermotolerant fungi, especially Aspergillus fumigatus, indicating that spontaneous heating had occurred during the storage. By contrast, heavy exposure to Penicillium species and other mesophilic fungi was characteristic of the handling of fuel chips, which are usually only stored for short periods in saw mills. The greatest spore concentration, 3×106 cfu/m3 air (mainly Penicillium), was measured during the handling of fuel chips stored for four months. Heavy exposure to airborne spores may cause respiratory diseases, e.g. allergic alveolitis. The possible role of Humicoia, Rhizopus and Streptomyces species, Paecilomyces variolii and Trichoderma viride, which occasionally occurred in high concentrations, should be investigated more thoroughly as etiological agents of respiratory symptoms among workers handling stored wood chips.

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