Exposure of Farm Laborers and Dairy Cattle to Formaldehyde from Footbath Use at a Dairy Farm in New York State
2014 (Engelska)Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment, ISSN 0048-9697, E-ISSN 1879-1026, Vol. 487, s. 65-71Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat) Published
Abstract [en]
Formalin footbaths are commonly used in the dairy industry to prevent cattle hoof diseases. Although formalin is a well-documented disinfectant, it is also a carcinogen and irritant. The aim of this study was to estimate the exposure of farm workers and dairy cattle to formaldehyde from footbaths located in a milking facility and a heifer facility at a dairy farm in western New York, USA. The dairy farm included approximately 3900 dairy cattle including young stock; of these, 1670 cows were milked three times per day in a 60-stall carousel milking parlor, and approximately 800 heifers were located at the heifer facility where footbaths with formalin were in use. The formaldehyde concentration of the air was measured using a Formaldemeter™ htV approximately 50 cm above the 3% formalin footbaths in the milking (one footbath location) and heifer (three footbath locations) facilities on three consecutive days. The measured formaldehyde concentrations varied between 0.00 and 2.28 ppm, falling within the safety guidelines established by the Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the United States. Significant differences were found in the formaldehyde concentrations at the different footbath locations in the heifer facility, potentially due to the varying levels of ventilation at each location. Changes in the ambient temperature during the 3-day sampling period did not significantly affect the concentrations. We believe that the substantial ventilation at both the heifer and milking facilities ensured that the formaldehyde concentrations did not exceed OSHA guidelines, thus permitting the safe use of formalin footbaths in this farm.
Ort, förlag, år, upplaga, sidor
Elsevier, 2014. Vol. 487, s. 65-71
Nyckelord [en]
Formaldehyde, footbath, dairy
Nyckelord [sv]
klövbad, formaldehyd, mjölkkor
Nationell ämneskategori
Husdjursvetenskap
Forskningsämne
Naturvetenskap
Identifikatorer
URN: urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-33679DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.04.007ISI: 000337259100008PubMedID: 24768913Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84899103279OAI: oai:DiVA.org:lnu-33679DiVA, id: diva2:710918
2014-04-082014-04-082021-02-03Bibliografiskt granskad