Summary
Air-borne dust was collected on stationary and portable filters in two factories producing “biological” detergents. In one factory (“Factory A”) the detergent base was mixed with enzyme (subtilisin) powder, and the handling of the enzyme was done without effective protection. In the other factory (“Factory B”) the enzyme was encapsulated in “granules” before mixing the with detergent base, and the production line was shielded to prevent the spread of dust.
Both the amount of air-borne dust and the relative enzyme activity of the dust were greater in “Factory A” than in “Factory B” in spite of the considerably larger production of enzyme detergents in the latter factory. The workers studied in “Factory A” were, on the average, exposed to 5.4 GU (“glycine units”) per cubic millimetre in their breathing zones, and those studied in “Factory B” were exposed to enzyme activities about and below 1 GU/m3.
Based on exposure measurements and medical examination of the exposed workers, a time-weighted hygienic limit value for subtilisins of 1 GU/m3 is proposed.
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References
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Göthe, C.J., Westlin, A. & Sundquist, S. Air-borne B. subtilis enzymes in the detergent industry. Int. Arch. Arbeitsmed 29, 201–208 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00539248
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00539248