The majority of agricultural safety groups considers dust an occupational hazard and confined livestock buildings have a lot of it. There are two kinds of dust: inhalable, which is >20ìm, and respirable, which is >5ìm. About 80-90% of dust in swine and poultry buildings is the respirable type, which can be inhaled deeply into the lungs. This can lead to health problems such as bronchitis, chronic farmer lung disease, occupational asthma and organic dust toxic syndrome (ODTS).
Factors affecting dust concentration in confined livestock buildings are temperature, relative humidity, ventilation systems, feeding practices, stocking density, cleanliness of the buildings, bedding materials and animal activity. Minimizing the occurrence of fine particles, preventing these particles from forming dust clouds, removing airborne dust using air cleaning devices and having workers use dust masks can reduce dust hazards. Dust control methods include proper and timely maintenance of feeding equipment, having a good ventilation system, sprinkling oil on the ground or in the pens, misting the air to increase the relative humidity and ionization to accelerate and remove dust.