Controlling Exposure To Poultry Dust: Guidance For Employers
Controlling Exposure To Poultry Dust: Guidance For Employers
Controlling Exposure To Poultry Dust: Guidance For Employers
Executive
Contents
Poultry dust: What is it? 2
Managing contractors 3
Health surveillance 3
Benchmark standards 3
AIS39 Published 03/12
(previously published Construction of new poultry houses 4
as Web39)
Laying down bedding/litter 4
Populating houses 7
Catching/depopulating 10
Litter/manure removal 10
Glossary 16
Appendix 1: RPE 17
References 22
Further information 22
1 of 22 pages
Health and Safety
Executive
3 Poultry dust may vary in composition from pure wood dust to a complex
mixture of organic and inorganic particles, faecal material, feathers, dander (skin
material), mites, bacteria, fungi and fungal spores, and endotoxins depending on
the type of birds, the work activity and the point in the growing or production cycle.
4 The dust can harm the respiratory system (nose, throat, airways and lungs) and
workers may experience a range of symptoms, including a sore throat, coughing,
wheezing, shortness of breath, bronchitis and even occupational asthma. Workers
may also experience flu-like symptoms.
6 The Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) carried out an extensive survey2 of this
industry. It showed that workers undertaking certain tasks in poultry houses were
exposed to high concentrations of poultry dust, in some cases for prolonged and
repeated periods. This guidance focuses on those activities or tasks that place
workers at greatest risk and gives simple, practical advice about how to protect
your workers’ health.
■■ the principles of good practice for the control of exposure (set out in
Schedule 2A to the COSHH Regulations) are applied;
■■ any workplace exposure limit (WEL)1 is not exceeded; and
■■ for a substance that has the potential to cause occupational asthma, exposure
is reduced to as low a level as is reasonably practicable.
12 This guidance has been produced in partnership with the poultry industry to
enable those working in the industry to comply with their main duties under COSHH
– to identify the risks and apply appropriate control measures.3
15 The benchmark standard within this guidance lays down the minimum levels
of protection that should be provided for a range of common activities. Your risk
assessment will help you to put appropriate measures in place to meet the required
standards. A different level of protection may be appropriate or required in some
cases. See Appendix 1 for further information.
Managing contractors
16 Contractors often carry out the tasks covered by this guidance. This sometimes
causes confusion over who is legally responsible for providing worker protection.
Appendix 2 contains some basic advice that may help to clarify the respective
responsibilities of clients (farmers, growers and producers) and contractors for ensuring
the health and safety of workers in situations that may occur on poultry farms.
Health surveillance
17 Poultry dust can contain asthmagens so all workers in poultry houses should be
subject to regular health surveillance. Appendix 3 describes an appropriate scheme.
A suitably qualified medical practitioner or occupational health nurse should be
appointed to provide specialist advice and to carry out further investigations when
necessary.
Benchmark standards
18 This section describes a range of common activities observed on poultry farms
during the HSL survey and specifies, for each activity, the measures agreed with
industry that should be taken to protect workers’ health. These measures constitute
‘good working practice’ and are the ‘benchmark standards’ against which you
should compare your own controls.
19 The highest exposure levels (total inhalable dust, bacteria, fungi and endotoxins)
measured by HSL are listed for each activity that was monitored during the survey.
The opportunity was not available to carry out atmospheric sampling for every
activity. These levels are time-averaged over the sampling periods. Full details of the
sampling results are contained in the HSL survey report2 (short-term peak levels
may be much higher than the levels recorded in the HSL report).
20 The need to protect workers’ health and safety should always be taken into
account when designing and constructing new poultry houses or selecting and
purchasing new vehicles and equipment to service the buildings. The same applies
to the introduction of systems of work for carrying out both routine and periodic
tasks.
■■ Design new sheds to eliminate horizontal surfaces that collect dust, with smooth
surface finishes and level concrete floors to facilitate cleaning. Maintain these in
good condition.
■■ The height of new sheds should be tall enough (at the eaves and/or to the
bottom of raised feeders or drinkers) to allow the use of a vehicle fitted with an
enclosed, ventilated cab with filtered air intakes to clean the whole of the floor. A
minimum headroom of 2.1 m is recommended throughout the building.
■■ Electrical installations and equipment, especially fan motors, should be
constructed and installed to a suitable IP rating to prevent water ingress.
25 Typical activities include laying down the initial layer of litter in rearing or growing
sheds. Litter may be received in a bale or in bulk form and spread by a drag-box,
plough or rotary spreader mounted on a mini-tractor or skid-steer loader. Some
spreaders have integral feed hoppers. Litter is hand-raked around roof support
posts and into corners.
26 Typical activities include laying down the initial layer of litter or topping-up litter
in rearing or growing sheds. Polythene-wrapped bales should be opened by hand
and litter should be spread over the floor using forks or rakes.
Populating houses
Egg production: point of lay (POL) for hens – barn and
colony systems
■■ the POL hens being delivered to the farm in crates stacked in wheeled modules;
■■ modules are either pushed or mechanically raised to the unloading station(s); and
■■ hens are lifted from the crates and placed in the houses or colony units.
■■ a pathway being cleared through the litter down the centre of the shed;
■■ wheeled modules carrying trays of DOCs are then pushed down this pathway to
the centre of the house;
■■ trays are emptied onto the litter on either side of the pathway; and
■■ the litter is pulled back over the pathway.
31 Dust comes directly from birds themselves, ie dander, faecal residues and
feathers. The dust is high in protein with an increased risk of respiratory sensitisation.
32 Typical activities for broiler production include some birds being moved at a
later stage, eg when seven weeks old, to fresh accommodation. At this later stage,
birds are transferred in wheeled modules as POL hens.
■■ Assess the health risks for individual tasks and their ancillary activities, such as
egg packing, to determine the appropriate control measures.
■■ Workers wear RPE with an APF of at least 10, eg FFP2 when performing tasks
involving working among live birds. This is the normal expectation (see Appendix 1).
■■ Reduce exposure by shed ventilation (mechanical and/or natural). This should
involve a combination of opening or closing shed doors, opening vents for
natural air dilution and switching on ventilation fans to create the required airflow.
■■ Disturb the birds and litter as little as possible.
■■ Perform tasks when dust levels are naturally at their lowest, eg when birds are
not dust-bathing.
■■ clearing dust and debris from the aisles, walkways and surrounding structures;
■■ cleaning colony units and floors;
■■ cleaning and sterilising the ends of the colony units, especially the egg and feed
conveyors; and
■■ removing deposits from muck elevators.
39 This task involves the use of hand tools (brushes and scrapers) as well as
powered equipment and machinery.
40 The dust contains large amounts of bird proteins and mite residues. The dust
carries a high risk of respiratory sensitisation. Such dust may also affect bird health.
Catching/depopulating
41 Typical activities include catching/depopulation or thinning of birds by hand,
often using a modular transport system.
42 Dust contains large amounts of bird proteins and mite residues. The dust
carries a high risk of respiratory sensitisation.
Litter/manure removal
Broilers and rearing farms
43 The process of litter/manure removal from broiler sheds typically involves the:
■■ removal of settled dust from roof trusses, feeders, stanchions, vents, fans and
casings (working both inside and outside the shed);
■■ removal of litter/manure from the shed floor, using a front end or skid steer
loader to shovel the bulk of the litter from the shed floor into a waiting lorry/
trailer; and
■■ removal of residual litter.
44 Rotary brushing of shed floors can cause exceedingly high peak dust levels (up
to 500 mg/m3). This is approaching a dust concentration that if ignited could result
in a dust explosion.
■■ The use of blowers and compressed airlines should be kept to a minimum; this
process generates high levels of dust.
■■ Where the use of portable blowers or compressed airlines is justified (eg by
risk assessment), workers should maximise the use of ventilation, wear RPE
as described above and follow a safe system of work (eg working away from
ventilation intakes and towards ventilation fans). A low-noise air nozzle should be
fitted to the end of compressed airlines to reduce noise exposure at the source.
When outside the shed cleaning fans and housings with compressed airlines, the
wind direction should be considered and workers should begin the task upwind
wherever possible so that airborne dust is blowing away from the worker.
■■ Wherever possible, use procedures that minimise dust generation, eg
vacuuming, pressure washing or suppressing the dust (eg by applying a fine
water mist throughout the shed). Initially wetting or dampening the litter/manure
will help reduce the amount of airborne dust.
Removal of litter/manure
45 Typical activities for farms with fixed poultry sheds include the removal of litter/
manure. This is for farms operated on the barn system, which is different from
broiler farms because all furniture (except the nest boxes) has to be removed before
the litter/manure can be accessed. The furniture (feed conveyors, metal grids,
timber frames etc) is dismantled by hand and taken outside where it is cleaned
and disinfected. Litter from inside the shed is then removed in a similar way, as
described for broilers.
46 For farms with mobile poultry sheds, the entire poultry shed is pulled by
vehicles and moved along the field. The litter is then exposed in the open air and
can be easily accessed and removed by any cabbed vehicle. The mobile shed is
then moved back into place, ready for cleaning and disinfection.
■■ Controls are the same as for broiler farms (see Litter/manure removal: Broilers
and rearing farms).
■■ All furniture should be given a preliminary clean before being dismantled and
removed from the sheds. Wherever possible introduce procedures that minimise
dust generation, eg vacuuming, pressure washing or suppressing the dust (eg
by applying a fine water mist throughout the shed). Initially wetting or dampening
the litter/manure will help reduce the amount of airborne dust.
47 Due to new welfare regulations, companies are replacing their old cages with
larger modern systems. Many of these have ventilation and air extraction systems
that reduce the amount of dust, as well as conveyor systems that capture/remove
the faecal matter to another building/area.
48 Cleaning of the colony units and walkways etc within these large buildings takes
place regularly (ie daily, weekly or fortnightly, depending on the task) as described
in Routine house cleaning.
■■ Controls for cleaning are the same as described in Routine house cleaning.
50 Typical activities involve sheds being washed down and disinfected after
removal of litter/manure. The internal structure is first sprayed with detergent to
loosen deposits, then pressure hosed with clean water and finally sprayed with
disinfectant. Sheds are sometimes fogged or fumigated with biocide.
■■ Wear suitable PPE and RPE (as defined by your risk assessment) when applying
detergent to loosen remaining hardened deposits.
■■ When using a pressurised water system to clean the shed, workers should
wear suitable PPE including a waterproof suit, wellington boots, gloves and ear
protectors, and wear suitable filtering RPE with an APF of at least 10, eg FFP2
(see Appendix 1).
■■ Wear suitable PPE and RPE when spraying disinfectant applied through a
pressure washer. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions when using
a disinfectant. Avoid products labelled R43 (may cause sensitisation by skin
contact) or H317 (may cause an allergic skin reaction) if possible.
Fogging/fumigation
■■ All fogging/fumigation technicians must be competent. The British Pest Control
Association (BPCA) runs suitable training courses.
■■ Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when fogging/fumigating sheds.
■■ Prevent access to sheds when fogging/fumigation is in progress. Keep sheds
secure while under fumigation to prevent unauthorised access. Display warning
signs at all entry points.
■■ Wear suitable RPE to enter the plant room at the end of the fogging/fumigation
period and to start the ventilation fans. Check the product instructions for
details.
■■ At the end of the fogging/fumigation period, the person in charge should declare
the shed safe for reoccupation.
■■ Further information can be found in Fumigation: Health and safety guidance for
employers and technician carrying out fumigation operations.4
51 Typical activity involves all furniture, except the nest boxes, being dismantled
and taken outside where it is cleaned and disinfected. The inside of the shed is
then cleaned and disinfected.
■■ All furniture should be removed from the sheds, cleaned and disinfected outside
– mats etc are pre-soaked, pressure washed then disinfected.
■■ Application of disinfectant: follow manufacturer’s instructions and wear RPE
depending on application method.
■■ Controls for cleaning, disinfection and fumigation/fogging of egg-production
poultry sheds are the same as for broiler houses (see House cleaning,
disinfection and fumigation: Broilers and rearing farms).
53 Typical activity includes cleaning of the colony systems, which takes place more
frequently than on broiler or barn farms. Colony units are typically cleaned on a
weekly or fortnightly basis as described in Routine house cleaning.
54 At the end of the crop cycle when the birds have been removed (approx 50–60
weeks) the units are cleaned and then washed and disinfected.
■■ Controls for cleaning are the same as described in Routine house cleaning.
■■ Controls for disinfection and fumigation are the same as for broiler houses (see
House cleaning, disinfection and fumigation: Broilers and rearing farms) where
appropriate.
■■ Wear RPE depending on the application method.
Glossary
total inhalable dust inhalable dust approximates to the fraction of airborne
materials that enters the nose and mouth during breathing and is therefore available
for deposition in the respiratory tract.
bacterial bacteria in poultry dust may be derived from soil or dust generally present
in any agricultural environment, and from feed and bedding/litter, as well as from the
birds themselves (faecal or skin microflora, zoonotic agents). Their presence may
constitute a risk to the human health of workers either through overt infection or
through an immunological or toxic challenge to the respiratory system as a result of
the biological burden.
endotoxin endotoxins are present in poultry dust at all stages of the production
cycle. Endotoxins are released after the breakdown of the cell wall of gram negative
bacteria. Evidence supports endotoxin exposure at work being linked to a variety
of reported work-related symptoms, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath,
wheezing and chest tightness, headache, upper airways irritation, and acute airway
obstruction, and inflammation. Health effects associated with endotoxin exposure
are often non-specific in nature (ie not causing a specific disease), and may be
associated with reduced lung function.
fungi fungi in poultry dust may be derived from soil and dust generally present in
any agricultural environment, and from feed and bedding/litter, but to a lesser extent
from the birds themselves. Long-term or repeated exposure to high concentrations
of airborne fungal spores is recognised as contributing to a decline in lung function
and allergic disease such as asthma and farmers lung.
asthmagen occupational asthma is an allergic reaction that can occur in some people
when they are exposed to certain substances in the workplace, eg grain, storage mites
and fungal spores. These substances are called respiratory sensitisers or ‘asthmagens’
and form some of the constituents of poultry dust. They can cause a change in people’s
airways, known as the ‘hypersensitive state’. Not everyone who becomes sensitised
goes on to get asthma. But once the lungs become hypersensitive, further exposure to
the substance, even at quite low levels, may trigger an attack.
Appendix 1: RPE
1 RPE will remain the main means of controlling exposure to poultry dust for
many workers.
2 The benchmark standard in this guidance lays down the minimum levels of
protection that should be provided for a range of common activities. Local risk
assessment should confirm that the standard will provide adequate protection in
actual working conditions. A different level of protection may be appropriate or
required in some cases.
3 RPE should be capable of providing adequate protection and should fit the
wearer properly. Take all factors into account when selecting the equipment, eg the
nature of the work, the working environment and the features of the wearer, eg face
shape, facial hair, spectacle wearer. Other risks, eg the risk of eye infection, will
also need to be taken into account.
6 Selecting the right respirator for each user is essential. It is unlikely that one
particular type or size of respirator will fit everyone.
7 Face fit testing (either qualitative or quantitative) should be carried out for all
respirators that rely on a good face seal to be effective, ie disposable, half and full-
face masks.
8 Face fit testing ensures that the respirator is capable of fitting properly.
9 Fit testing is not required for loose-fitting equipment such as ventilated visors
and hoods.
11 All users of RPE should be adequately instructed and trained in its correct
use and, in particular, should be shown how to check the fit before each use. The
simplest seal check is as follows:
13 Workers must make full and proper use of RPE and farm managers, as well
as team leaders and supervisors, have a duty to ensure that it is worn properly at
the correct times. RPE should be worn continuously throughout the work period;
otherwise its benefit will be lost.
14 All re-usable RPE should be checked for correct operation before each use
in accordance with the manufacturer’s or supplier’s instructions. The equipment
should be regularly cleaned and maintained and should be disinfected between use
on different farms. Make sure the filters are replaced when used or damaged, in
accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. The equipment should be stored
in a clean and safe place when not in use. It should not be left lying around the
workplace or in the back of a van.
15 Experience should determine how often disposable respirators are changed but
they should never be used for more than one shift. Replacement masks should be
readily available at the point of use.
2 In this situation, the farmer and the contractor share responsibility for
managing the health and safety of the contractor’s workers but the extent of each
party’s responsibility will depend on the exact circumstances. Although primary
responsibility remains with the contractor, as their employer, the farmer attracts a
range of duties which include:
3 Contractors should be selected with care and health and safety should be
a key consideration in the selection process. Before awarding a contract, the
farmer should assess the ability and competency of all potential contractors to
manage health and safety. Useful evidence includes copies of health and safety
policy statements, risk assessments, training records and public/employer liability
insurance.
5 Contractors invited to tender should be made fully aware of how the work
should be done and the standard of health and safety expected of them.
Contractors’ responsibilities for health and safety, eg the provision of RPE, should
be agreed and confirmed in writing in the terms of a formal contract. The contract
should spell out exactly what the contractor has to do to meet his responsibilities
for health and safety. The arrangements for first aid and welfare should also be
agreed. There should be no doubt about who is responsible for what.
7 All workers should be given a brief site induction on arrival to explain the safety
rules and procedures, especially what to do in the event of an emergency.
9 The activities of resident farm workers and those of the contractor should be
co-ordinated to minimise the risks to both sets of workers, eg resident workers
should avoid blowing down colony units while contractors are performing work
below them, such as scraping belts and perches.
10 Contractors are responsible for supervising their own workers and monitoring
their own health and safety performance. However the farmer should make
periodical checks on the contractor to make sure that the work is being done as
agreed in the contract. Farmers should not just leave contractors to get on with the
job and turn a blind eye to unsafe practices and disregard for safety rules. Farmers
should be positive and carry out checks and inspections. Farm staff should know
what action to take if they find any problems. This should be agreed and included
in the contract at the outset.
11 Both the farmer and the contractor should review the work after completion to
see if the performance could be improved in the future.
3 Decisions on the appropriate form of health surveillance may require the advice
of an occupational health professional. The precise form of health surveillance will
depend on the particular circumstances of exposure (level, frequency and duration)
identified by the risk assessment.
5 Lung function testing may also help with assessing a worker’s respiratory health.
Consideration should be given to the measurement of lung function (preferably by
spirometry) at the same intervals, ie pre-placement, six weeks, 12 weeks and annually
thereafter.
7 Each employee should be given information about the health risks associated
with exposure to poultry dust, the relevant symptoms to look out for and the need
to report any symptoms to the nominated responsible person.
References
1 Statement of evidence: Respiratory hazards of poultry dust HSE 2009
www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/web40.pdf
4 Fumigation: Health and safety guidance for employers and technicians carrying
out fumigation operations HSG251 HSE Books 2005 ISBN 978 0 7176 2999 2
www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/HSG251.htm
Further information
For information about health and safety, or to report inconsistencies or inaccuracies
in this guidance, visit www.hse.gov.uk/. You can view HSE guidance online and
order priced publications from the website. HSE priced publications are also
available from bookshops.
This document contains notes on good practice which are not compulsory but
which you may find helpful in considering what you need to do.