Indoor Air Quality Assessment with Emphasis on Flour Dust: A Cross-Sectional Study of a Random Sample from Iranian Bakeries Workers

This cross-sectional study investigates the time weighted average (TWA) exposure of bakeries workers to the particulate matters concentration in the randomly selected bakeries workers. Air samples were collected from worker inhalation area in the workplaces by personal sampling method (PTFE Membrane SKC Filter with 25 mm, 2.0-μm pore sizes and SKC personal samplers pump with flow rate of 2 L/min). Filters were weighted by digital balance before and after sampling in the controlled laboratory. It was found that particulate matters concentration was higher than the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) permissible exposure limit (1mg/m ). The indoor related humidity ratio (3 RH) and indoor dry bulb temperature were 65%, 32 °C, respectively. Indoor air pollution was observed in this group after consecutively controlling the effects of indoor related humidity and indoor dry bulb temperature. Due to the design of the current crosssectional nature, causal inferences cannot be made. The limitations of design and measurement are discussed in the context of the workplaces assessment field.