Online-Seminar

Wood processing has been known to emit a large amount of inhalable wood dust, but the emissions of smaller particles, i.e. fine particles and ultrafine particles with a diameter smaller than 10 μm and 100 nm, respectively, as well as their exposure levels, remain unclear.

In this study, fine and ultrafine particle emission from wood processing was measured, both on a pilot scale and in the wood industry. The pilot scale wood processing covered the complete procedure, starting from sawing wood logs to producing the final wood panel products. The measurement in the wood industry included a sawmill and a wood panel factory. 

The deposition of particles in human airways was modeled using a human respiratory tract deposition model (ICRP) combined with the measured particle size distribution. The results indicate that wood processing procedures could lead to high fine and ultrafine particle exposure levels.

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