Lung function changes among recycling workers exposed to organic dust.

This study examines the workshift changes in lung function among 99 recycling workers, and correlates these findings with measurements of total dust and endotoxins. Exposure to organic dust caused a fall in FEV1 over the workshift, and this was significantly associated with the exposure to organic dust. No significant association was found between endotoxin exposure and lung function decrements. This lack of association could be due to the low concentrations of endotoxins to which the workers were exposed, as no workers were exposed to more than 100 ng/m3.