Relationship between employees’ perception of airborne wood dust and ventilation applications in micro-scale enterprises producing furniture

Abstract

Excessive inhalation of airborne wood dust has a negative impact on employees’ health and is a common issue. There are available hazard control methods to protect workers from exposure to airborne wood dust. These methods include ventilation of the workplace and the use of personal protective equipment against dust. In this study, micro-scale furniture manufacturing enterprises were investigated because the sector and the scale of the enterprise are among the factors affecting the exposure to dust. A structured questionnaire was conducted by face-to-face interview method in this study. In addition, workplaces and working conditions of 53 enterprises were observed during on-site visits to conduct the questionnaires. The relationship between categorical variables was investigated using the Chi-square test. Among the interviewed employees, 9.4% were not concerned about the harmful impact of solid wood dust on health. The least used ventilation method was local exhaust ventilation, and at any interviewed site the occupational exposure limit value to dust was unknown. Medium density fibreboard was the most preferred raw material. Because wood dust was generally underestimated as an occupational health risk factor, this study concludes that ventilation applications that reduce exposure to dust were also insufficient.