|
|
|
PRELIMINARY COURSE ASSESSMENT CHEMISTRY: REACTION RATES
|
|
HOMEPAGE
|
Page: 7 of 10 (* currently answering part (b) )
Consider the work occupational hazards of farmers. Much of the air that farmers breathe is dirty and sometimes lethal. Farmers Lung and Organic Dust Toxicity Syndrome (ODTS) are names given to two farm occupational diseases caused by inhaling airborne mould spores. Silo Unloaders Syndrome is another name for ODTS because the condition often occurs during the unloading or uncapping of silos. Similar diseases associated with other agricultural occupations have been termed Bird Fanciers Lung, Mushroom Workers Lung, and Wood Pulp. Mould spores are produced by microorganisms that grow in baled hay, stored grain, or silage with a high moisture content (30 %). They become active when temperatures exceed 30 degrees poorly ventilated areas. Farmers most often suffer from these diseases in winter and early spring because the moulds have had time to develop in closed storage areas. Heavy concentrations of mould spores appear as a dry, white or gray powder in grain or forage. When the feed is moved, billions of these microscopic sized particles become airborne and attach themselves to dust. These particles pass through the body's natural filtering mechanisms (nose, hair, and throat mucous) and accumulate in the lungs where they can cause an allergic type of pneumonia. Repeated attacks can lead to scarring of lung tissue that impairs its function. Such tissue damage is permanent. ODTS and Farmers Lung are closely related diseases, but there are some differences. They are similar in routes of entry and in the symptoms they cause. Farmers Lung symptoms usually reoccur, and a person can become sensitised to the mould. This means it usually takes less exposure for a severe reaction with each succeeding incident. The symptoms of Farmers Lung and ODTS are often striking, yet the diseases go unrecognised by many victims and misdiagnosed by physicians not familiar with farm health hazards. Victims and doctors alike often confuse Farmers Lung and ODTS with asthma attacks, pneumonia, or flu because the symptoms are similar.
|
