Chronic Exposure of Pigs to Airborne Dust and Endotoxins in an Environmental Chamber: Technical Note

Original

article

Chronic exposure of

pigs

to

airborne dust

and

endotoxins

in

an

environmental chamber:

technical

note

B Urbain

JF Prouvost

D

Beerens

1

O Michel

B Nicks

M

_Ansay

P

Gustin

1

Laboratoire de

_{pharmacologie}

et

_{d’écotoxicologie}

vétérinaires, faculté de médecine vétérinaire,

université de

_Liège,

bd de Colonster, 841;

2_Laboratoire

d’hygiène

et de

bioclimatologie,

faculté de médecine vétérinaire, université de

_Liège,

bd de Colonster, B43, B-4000

Liège;

3

Clinique d’allergologie

et des maladies

respiratoires, hôpital

universitaire Saint-Pierre

(ULB),

Brussels,

Belgium

(Received

20 November 1995;

accepted

9

_May

1996)

Summary ―

A new

experimental

setup was

_developed

to _expose

_pigs

to dust and airborne endotoxins in an environmental chamber, at levels liable to be encountered in

pig

farm

buildings.

The

following

parameters were evaluated in a chamber

_containing

two

_pigs

of 10

_{kg body-weight:}

inhalable and

respirable

dust

gravimetric

concentrations were measured

_using

area

samplers

and

expressed

as

mg/m

3

.

The

respirable

dust concentration was also measured

_using

a ’TM

_{digital pP respirable}

dust-measuring

instrument’, which has been shown to

give

similar results to the

_gravimetric

method. The endo-toxin concentration was evaluated

_using

the

Limulus-assay

and

expressed

as

_ng/m

₃

of air

containing

the inhalable or

_respirable

dust or as

_ng/mg

of inhalable and

respirable

dust. Feed flour dust was

introduced into the chamber to obtain different concentrations of inhalable and

respirable

dust

ranging

from 3.62 to 76.66

_mg/m

₃

and from 0.24 to 1.40

mg/

M

3

,

respectively.

The endotoxin concentration was modulated

by mixing

the feed flour with Escherichia coli endotoxins before

_blowing

it into the chamber. The endotoxin concentrations in the air

containing

inhalable or

respirable

dust

_ranged

from 28.9 to

270.0

ng/m

3

and from 2.22 to 36.38

_ng/m

₃

_,

respectively, depending

on the amount of endotoxins added to the dust. Data were also obtained in a

_piggery.

The

experimental

setup detailed in this paper could be used to

_study

the

significance

of air contaminants in the

_development

of

pig respiratory

dis-eases.

airborne dust I endotoxin / environmental chamber / air

pollution

*

Résumé ―

_{Exposition chronique}

_{de porcs à} des

_poussières

et des endotoxines

_{aéroportées}

dans une chambre d’inhalation : _aspects

techniques.

Une chambre d’inhalation a été

_développée

afin

d’exposer

des porcs à une

_atmosphère

contenant des

_poussières

et des endotoxines. Les

concen-trations

gravimétriques

en

_poussières

inhalables et

_respirables

ont été mesurées à l’aide d’échan-tillonneurs de

poussières,

et

_exprimées

en

_mglm

₃

d’air. Les concentrations en

_{poussières respirables}

ont aussi été mesurées en utilisant un

_appareil

de mesure

_optique

de

poussière

fine,

qui

s’est avéré donner des résultats similaires à ceux de la méthode

_{gravimétrique.}

Les concentrations en

endo-toxines ont été évaluées par le test de la Limule et

_exprimées

en

_ng/m

₃

d’air contenant les

poussières

inhalables et

_respirables

ou _par

_nglmg

de

_poussières

inhalables et

_respirables.

Une

poussière

de farine alimentaire a été introduite dans l’enceinte afin d’atteindre

_plusieurs

niveaux de

_poussières

inhalables et

_respirables

à des concentrations variant de 3,62 à 76,66

mglrrr

3

et de 0,24 à 1,40

mglm

3

respectivement.

Les concentrations en endotoxines ont été modulées en

mélangeant

des

lipopoly-saccharides d’ Escherichia coli avec la farine avant de la

pulvériser

dans l’enceinte. Les concentrations en endotoxines dans l’air contenant les

_poussières

inhalables et

_respirables

variaient

respectivement

de 28,9 à 270,0

ng/m

3

et de 2,22 à 36,38

mg/m

3

,

en fonction du taux d’endotoxines

_ajoutées

à la

farine. Ce modèle

expérimental

permet de

reproduire

des niveaux de concentration en

_poussières

et

en endotoxines

_comparables

à ceux rencontrés dans les

porcheries.

Son utilisation

pourrait

permettre

l’étude de

l’importance

des contaminants de l’air dans le

_{développement}

des

pathologies

respira-toires chez le porc.

pollution

de

_{l’air Ipoussîère /endotoxine Ichambre}

d’inhalation

INTRODUCTION

There is

_growing

interest in the influence of

piggery

air

_pollution

in the

_pathogenesis

of

respiratory

diseases in

_pigs

and farmers.

Epidemiological

studies have shown that the

_prevalence

of

_respiratory

disorders in

pig

farmers and animals correlates well with the concentrations of some indoor

pollu-tants such as

dust, endotoxins,

and ammo-nia

_(Bongers

et

al, 1987; Donham,

1991

).

These studies

_suggest

that the

_pollutants

have a

_possible

role in

_triggering

or

aggra-vating respiratory

diseases but

_they

do not

establish the

_precise

contribution of each

pollutant.

Complementary

experimental

studies are

_required

on _exposure to

pollu-tants, in order to assess their

_toxicity

for the

respiratory system,

their mechanism of

action,

and to establish

_{dose-response}

curves that would indicate

_acceptable

levels of

_pollution

in

_{pig farming.}

Such studies necessitate the use of environmental cham-bers where the microclimate and

contami-nant concentrations can be controlled. In the

present work,

a new

experimen-tal

setup

was

_developed.

Its purpose was

to _expose

_pigs

to dust and airborne endo-toxins at levels liable to be encountered in

pig

buildings.

Basal concentrations of dust and endotoxins were measured both in a

piggery

and in a chamber

_housing

two

piglets.

Afterwards,

dust was introduced into the chamber to obtain different levels of dust concentrations. A method for

_enriching

the introduced air with endotoxins is also described.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Air-pollutant

exposure chambers

The environmental chambers used to _expose

pigs

to controlled aerial ammonia concentrations have been

previously

described in detail

(Urbain

et al,

1993). Briefly,

closed stainless-steel and

plastic

chambers

(1.9 m

3

)

were constructed to house

_{pigs weighing}

up to 35

_kg.

Outside air was

passed through fiberglass

filters to remove dust

and aerial bacteria. The air flow rate was 10 m3/h.

The mean concentration of bacterial

colony-form-ing

particles

(BCFP),

measured in _{the presence}

L-broth agar Petri dishes, was 28 385 ± 9 665 BCF p / M 3

; the percentage of

_respirable

bacteria was 55%

(BCFP

< 5

pm).

The

pigs

were set on a

grating

located 15 cm above the floor. There was no litter and the manure was removed twice

daily

by cleaning

the floor with water to maintain the ammonia concentration below 5 _ppm.

Instanta-neous and mean ammonia concentrations were measured

_respectively

with Gastec tubes or

_by

titration of the

scavenged

gas with a

_specific

elec-trode in an acidic solution.

_Pigs

were fed with

pel-lets ad libitum and water was

_{supplied by}

an

auto-matic valve. In the present

experiment,

two

_pigs

with a

_{body weight}

of 10

_kg

were

_placed

in the

chamber in order to measure the

background

of

dust and endotoxin concentrations in the pres-ence of animals.

Air chamber enrichment with dust

A commercial

pig

feed flour

(11111 Schyns,

Bat-tice,

Belgium)

was used as the dust source. The

flour was filtered on a sieve

through

a 450 pm mesh screen

(VEL

3130006,

Liege, Belgium),

to eliminate the

_largest

particles.

The flour was then

homogenized

in a commercial food mixer for 4 h

(Kenwood

KM

₂₀₁₎

and dried at 50 °C for 72 h.

One

_kilogram

of this flour was introduced into a

0.03 m3 closed

plexiglass cylindrical

tank

_{(fig 1)}

(150

cm

_height;

16 cm internal diameter

(ID)).

A tube

_(ID:

1.8

_{cm), extending}

from the top of the tank to 20 cm above the floor inside the tank,

was connected to a source of

_compressed

air to

produce

turbulence and create a dust cloud. Inflow pressure measured at the air source and

air flow were controlled,

respectively,

with a

manometer

(B4593BD

Technofluid,

Liege,

Bel-gium)

and a flow-meter

_(R101

Technofluid,

Liege,

Belgium).

The inflow pressure in the tank was maintained constant

throughout

all

_experiments

(1

bar).

Air with

_suspended

particles

was intro-duced into the chamber

by connecting

one of the nine exit

_tubings,

located at different

_heights

on the tank, to the chamber ventilation circuit

Measurements of dust concentration in the chamber

All air

samples

were taken within the normal

breathing

zone of the

_pigs.

‘Inhalable dust’ is defined as the fraction of airborne material which enters the nose and

mouth

during breathing

and is thus available for

deposition anywhere

in the

respiratory

tract

(Health

and

Safety

Executive,

1986).

The

_weight

of the inhalable dust per cubic meter of air can

be estimated

using

an air

sampler composed

of a ’seven-hole’

sampling

head

(SK-225-70,

DEHA,

Belgium) holding

a 25 mm

_{polycarbonate}

filter

(Millipore ATTP02500)

and connected to a pump unit which maintains a constant air flow rate of

2 Umin

through

this filter for 2 or 3 h

(SK-224-43-EXKB, DEHA,

Belgium).

The air flow of the pump was controlled with a

_precision

rotameter

(Bioblock

A29443, llikirch,

France).

Filters were

weighed

on a Mettler balance

immediately

before and after the

pumping period.

Several blanks were retained as reference filters. The results were

_expressed

in

_mg/m3.

’Respirable

dust’

_designates

the fraction of

material which _penetrates to the gas

exchange

regions

of the

lung.

Since it could not be

mea-sured

_directly,

we used one of two methods to

simulate the

deposition

of dust in the

respiratory

tract. One method involved the use of a

_personal

sampling

head

(SK-225-3,

DEHA,

Belgium)

con-taining

the same filter as mentioned above,

equipped

with an aluminium

_{cyclone preselector}

(SK-225-01-01,

DEHA,

Belgium)

connected to a pump unit

(SK-224-43-EXKB,

DEHA,

Belgium).

This

cyclone

head has a 50% cut-off effective-ness value of 5.3 _Nm at a flow rate of 1.9 L/min. This method, however, lacks

_precision

when the

dust concentration is low, due to the

slight

changes

in the

weight

of the filter

during

the

sam-pling period.

For this reason, the filters were used

only

for

_measuring

endotoxin concentrations

expressed

in nanograms of endotoxin in

res-pirable

dust per cubic meter of air

(see below).

A second method involved use of the ‘TM

dig-ital

uP respirable dust-measuring

instrument’

(TM

N

P)

(Dragger ballings,

Brussels,

Belgium),

which operates

using

the

_principle

of stray

light

measurement. The

_intensity

of _stray

_light

is

_directly

proportional

to the concentration of dust

particles

ranging

in size from 0 to _{8 pm.} The apparatus is calibrated

_by

the manufacturer who determines

the dust concentrations in

milligrams

per cubic

meter

₍

_M

_g/

_M

₃

_),

_using

wheat flour

particles, by

comparing

the values

_{displayed by}

the

_TM

_N

_P

with the

gravimetrically

measured values in

milligrams

per cubic meter

_(mg/m

₃

_).

The _apparatus

displays

a dust concentration in

milligrams

per cubic meter

(mg/m

3

)

with a

_sensitivity

of 0.01

_M

_g/

_M

₃

_.

Mea-surements were

_{generally performed}

_{every 20} s and

averaged

over a

period

of 2-3 h. However, to

assess this method, the values were

_compared

with those recorded with the

gravimetric

method

performed

over a

_{longer period}

of 6 h.

The

_particles

size was measured

_{by optical}

examination. Dust

samples

were taken

using

the method described to measure the

_weight

of the inhalable dust. The pump unit

operated

at 2 L/min for 2 min. Then the filter was examined

_using

an

Olympus microscope

connected to a frame anal-yser

(Vidas 21

The

size of 100

_{particles ranging}

in size from 10 to 100 _pm was measured on each filter,

taking

into account the

higher

dimension of each

_particle.

Enriching

dust in endotoxins and

_measuring

air endotoxin concentrations

The method consisted of

mixing

freeze-dried

Escherichia coli endotoxins

(55

or _{100 mg of}

serotype 0127:B8,

Sigma)

with 250 g of sifted flour in a Kenwood feed mixer for 1 h. Next, 250 g

flour was added at

hourly

intervals in order to obtain 1

_kg

of mixed flour. The air endotoxin con-centrations were measured on the filters used for

gravimetric

measurements of inhalable and

res-pirable

dust. After

_sampling,

each filter was

_placed

in a sterile

_{polypropylene}

tube

(Corning

25330-50,

VEL

Belgium)

and stored at-20 °C.

Endotoxin-free

phosphate-buffered

saline was introduced into the tube and the Limulus assay was used to

measure the endotoxin content of the dust

_(Michel

et al,

1991

The

results are

expressed

in

nanograms of endotoxin in the inhalable or

res-pirable

dust per cubic meter of air, or in

nanograms per

milligram

of inhalable or

_respirable

dust.

Experimental protocol

Two

pigs

were introduced into the

chamber.

Sam-pling

and measurements were

performed

over

measurements, dust with or without added

endo-toxins was introduced into the chamber. In order

to obtain different dust concentrations in the

chamber, the air flow inside the tank was

_adjusted

(1.5

or 2

_m

₃

_/h)

while

_maintaining

a constant inflow pressure. A second method consisted of

con-necting

one of several outflow tubes, located at

different

_heights

on the tank

(65,

95, 115, and 135 cm from the floor of the

tank),

to the air ven-tilation circuit of the chamber,

taking advantage

of the fact that the

_higher

the tank exit, the lower

the amount of dust

expelled

from the tank. The

weight

of flour in the tank was measured before

and after each

_{experimental period.}

All

mea-surements were also _performed in _{the grower}

facility

of a

_piggery

in order to _compare the values obtained in the chamber with those measured in

commercial units.

RESULTS

The amount of dust blown from the tank decreased

exponentially

with

_increasing

exit tube

_height

_{(table I).}

The

_equations

_linking

_y, the amount _{of dust blown per hour}

_(g/h),

and x, the

_height

of the tube

_(cm),

were

respectively

y= 176 x

_10-00102!=

_0.

₉₁₂

₎

and

_y

_’=

9 793x

1

O

-0v205x

_(R

_{= 0.950)}

for air flow rates of 1.5 and 2

m

3

/h

inside the tank.

The

_highest

concentrations of blown dust were considered to be too

_{high (98}

and 535

_{g/h )}

for use in our

_experiments.

The recorded base-line values for the

inhalable and

_respirable

dust

concentra-tions in the chamber were

_respectively

0.70 t 0.43

_(n

=

5)

and 0.05 ± 0.01

(n

=

5)

mg/m

3

(table

I).

These values were lower than the values recorded in a

_pigpen:

3.80 ±

0.27

_(n

=

4)

and 0.32 ± 0.05

_(n

=

3)

mg/m

3

,

respectively.

The

_percentage

of

_respirable

dust was about the same in the chamber

(7.14%)

as in the

_pigpen

_(9.30%).

The

inhal-able dust concentrations inside the chamber were

_closely

related to the

_height

of the exit tube

_connecting

the tank to the ventilation circuit of the isolator

_(table

_I).

However,

the

percentage

of

_{respirable particles}

measured when

_high

amounts of dust were

_suspended

in the air chamber was smaller

_(1.22%)

than the value obtained at a low level of

enrich-ment

_(6.63%).

The data shown in table I also revealed that

_increasing

the dust con-centration

_{by adjusting}

the air flow in the tank led to a

_{higher percentage}

of

_respirable

particles

than that which was recorded at a similar dust concentration obtained with a

lower air flow in the

tank,

respectively,

7.39 versus 2.5%.

The

_optical

_{examination of the dust}

pre-sent on the filters has shown that the mean size of

_{particles ranging}

_{from 10 to 100 Nm} was _{26.3 Nm. The} mean class size distri-bution from 22 examined filters is illustrated in

_figure

2.

Figure

3 shows the

_respirable

dust con-centration values measured with the

_TM

_N

_P

compared

with those obtained

_by

the

gravi-metric method. The values obtained with both methods were similar as illustrated

_by

the

_good

linear correlation between these values and the absence of

_significant

dif-ference

_(P

<

0.05)

of the calculated

_slope

value from 1.

The base-line endotoxin concentrations in the chamber were 16.16 ± 12.49

_ng/m

₃

(n

=

2) (air

_containing

all inhalable

_particles)

and < 1.17

_ng/m

₃

_(n

=

2)

(air containing only

the

_{respirable particles).}

The

correspond-ing

values measured in a

_piggery

were 190.5 ± 77.5

_ng/m

₃

_(n

=

₄₎

and 2.6 ±

0.5

_ng/m

₃

_(n

=

3).

These concentrations

expressed

in nanograms per

milligram

of inhalable dust were 41.7 ± 36.5

_ng/mg

_(n

=

2)

in the chamber and 49.9 ± 19.4

_ng/mg

(n

=

4)

in the

piggery.

The

respirable

endo-toxin concentration in the

_piggery,

estimated on the basis of the

_weight

of the dust mea-sured with the

_TM

_P

_P

instrument,

was 7.30 ±

0.46

_{ng/mg. By enriching}

the air inside the chamber with dust

_containing

endotoxins we were able to increase the endotoxin con-centration in the air

_containing

inhalable dust

9.3-fold,

from 28.9 to 270.0

_ng/m

₃

_.

In air

containing respirable

dust,

the increase

fac-tor was 16.4

_(from

2.22 to 36.38

_ng/m

₃

₎

(table II).

These

_changes

were due to an increase in the endotoxin concentration in the

dust,

as shown in the table II. 1.

DISCUSSION

In the

_present

_study,

_pig

feed flour was used

to create a

_dusty

cloud in an environmental chamber. The dust

_present

in

_{pig buildings}

comes

_partly

from feed. Other constituents are fecal material and

_pig

scales

_(Donham,

1986).

Fecal material is

_classically

consid-ered a source of small

_particles

and

Gram-negative

bacteria

_containing

endotoxins. Feed

_particles

are

_bigger

and constitute the bulk of the dust. Inhalable dust

concentra-tions in

_{pig buildings generally}

range from 2 to 20

_mg/m

₃

and the

_{respirable fraction,}

measured

_by

the

_gravimetric

method,

varies from 0.2 to 1.0

_mg/m

₃

_(Donham

et

al, 1986;

Donham,

1991

The

highest

values are recorded

_during

the winter

_period

and in

fat-tening

houses. Inhalable dust

concentra-tions recorded

_{during feeding (up}

to

27.3

_mg/m

₃

₎

or

_{weighing (up}

to 24.0

_mg/m

₃

₎

are

_higher

than

_during

normal maintenance

periods

(up

to 13.7

_mg/m

₃

₎

_(Larsson

et

al,

1992,

1994), suggesting

that

_{pig activity}

causes considerable

_agitation

of settled dust. These values are in

_agreement

with our values recorded in the

_piggery.

How-ever, values as

_high

as 183 t 85 and

4.4 ± 2.3

_mg/m

₃

_(for

inhalable and

_respirable

dust

_{respectively)}

have been recorded

dur-ing

the winter

_period

in _grower facilities

(Pickrell et al, 1993).

Inhalable dust levels in our

_study

were measured

_using

a ’seven-hole’ head for

technical reasons. If the IOM

_(Institute

of

Occupational Medicine) open-phase

cas-sette

_system

is

_regarded

as an

_evolving

standard for inhalable dust

_sampling,

it is inconvenient for

_determining

endotoxin con-centrations in dust.

Indeed,

the endotoxin-contaminated dust is collected on both the filter and the internal walls of the IOM head. This _{makes it necessary} to store the whole

cassette

_holding

the filter. The endotoxin concentrations can be determined later.

Moreover,

these cassettes are

_expensive.

Using

the seven-hole

head,

only

the filter needs to be stored for further endotoxin

determination.

However,

in our

experi-mental

_conditions,

the dust concentrations measured with the IOM head were 43 t

33%

_higher

than with the seven-hole head.

The dust concentrations measured with the latter are therefore

_probably

underesti-mated.

Base-line values recorded in the chamber were lower than those obtained under field conditions.

However,

the data

_presented

in

table I show that dust concentrations as

_high

as those measured in the field can be obtained

_using

the method detailed in the

present

study.

The best way to

_adjust

the dust concentrations inside the chamber was

to select the

_highest

exit tubes and to

adjust

the air flow rate. The ratio of

_respirable

to

inhalable dust

_(7-9%)

recorded under these conditions in the chamber was

_comparable

to that recorded in our

_piggery

and also

com-parable

to the values recorded

_by

Donham

et al

₍₁₉₈₆₎

in

_pig

_buildings.

_Choosing

the lower exit tubes increased the dust

con-centration,

but the

_percentage

of

_respirable

particles

was lower than under field condi-tions. Isolation chambers with dust

enrich-ment have been

_previously

used with

_pigs,

but without

_refering

to _any

_deposition

in the

respiratory

system.

Doig

and

_Willoughby

(1971)

exposed

animals to corn-starch dust and to

_ground

corn dust at 200 and 10

_mg/m

₃

_{respectively.}

Curtis et al

₍₁₉₇₅₎

exposed piglets

to dust collected from con-vection tubes in a

_{swine-finishing}

house,

at

concentrations of 10 and 300

_mg/m

₃

_.

Res-pirable

dust concentrations were not mea-sured

_by

these authors.

Moreover,

lower dust concentrations have not

_yet

been tested in

_pigs.

At low dust

concentrations,

the lack of

sensitivity

of the

_gravimetric

method

_(see

Materials and

_methods)

did not _allow

pre-cise measurement of the

_respirable

dust concentration. This is

_why

another method

(a TM

N

P

respirable dust-measuring

instru-ment)

was used to _{determine this} parame-ter. The

_gravimetric

method is based on the

principle

that small

particles

are

_scavenged

on the filter

_according

to a statistical distri-bution

_(Health

and

_Safety

Executive,

1986).

For

_example,

the

_cyclone

head used in this

study

selects 50% _{of all 5.3 N}m

particles,

the selected

_{particles being finally}

scav-enged

on the filter. This distribution is

the-oretically

similar to that observed in the human

_{respiratory system.}

The

_TM

_N

_P

appa-ratus measures the concentration of small

particles

and converts the measured val-ues to

_milligrams

per cubic meter

_taking

into

account a correction factor calculated

_by

the manufacturer. A

_good

correlation

_(R

=

0.915)

was obtained between the values measured

_by

the two

methods,

and the absence of

_significant

difference between the values obtained with both methods

_{(fig 3)}

shows the

_equivalence

of these two

tech-niques.

Note that the manufactor

_gives

a correlation of 0.99 for values up to

10

_mg/m3.

Endotoxin concentrations in

_pig

_buildings

range from 4 to 445

_ng/m

₃

in air

_containing

inhalable dust

_(Attwood

et

_al,

1987;

Don-ham et

_al,

1986;

Donham

1991;

Heederick

et

al, 1991;

Pickrell et

al,

1993).

Values as

high

as 716 and 1 300

_ng/m

₃

have been recorded

_{during feeding}

and

_weighing

respectively

(Larsson

et

al,

1992, 1994).

In

respirable

dust,

the mean endotoxin con-centration ranges from 8 to 300

_ng/m

₃

(Don-ham

1991;

Larsson et

al, 1992;

Pickrell et

al,

1993).

Under our

_experimental

conditions,

endotoxin concentrations were in the _range

of the values recorded in

_{pig buildings.}

Expressed

in nanograms per

milligram

of inhalable

dust,

the concentrations range from 0.4 to 113

_ng/mg

_(Donham

et

al,

1986;

Attwood et

al, 1987;

Crook et

al, 1991;

Pick-rell et

_{al, 1993).}

Pickrell et al

₍₁₉₉₃₎

found that

_respirable

dust was four times richer in endotoxins than inhalable dust. Under our

experimental

conditions,

the

respirable/inhal-able ratio for this factor

_ranged

from 0.43

to 1.20. The ratio obtained in our

_piggery

was 0.15.

In

conclusion,

inhalable and

_respirable

dust concentrations in our environmental

chamber can be measured and

_reproduced

at levels similar to those encountered in

_pig

buildings.

Furthermore,

it is

_possible

to mod-ulate endotoxin

concentrations,

while

main-taining

a

_given

dust concentration. We have

developed

a new tool for

_{exposing piglets}

to common air

_pollutants.

This model could be used to determine the

_importance

of

these contaminants in the

_development

of

respiratory

diseases.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank C

_Remy

from the

_laboratory

of A Dewaele

_{(Liege, Belgium),}

and S Bloden for their technical assistance. Financial _support was

provided by

IRSIA

(Institut

pour

l’encouragement

de la recherche

scientifique

dans l’industrie et

I’agriculture).

REFERENCES

Attwood P, Brouwer R, Ruigiwaard P, Versloot P, De wit R, Heederik D, Boleij JSM ₍₁₉₈₇₎ A _study of the

relationship between airborne contaminants and environmental factors in Dutch swine confinement

buildings. Am Ind _Hyg Assoc J 48, 745-751

Bongers P, Houthuijs D, Remijn B, Brouwer R, Bier-steker K (1987) Lung function and respiratory symp-toms in _pig farmers. Br J Ind Med 44, 819-823 Crook B, Robertson JF, Travers Glass SA, Botheroyd

EM, Lacey J, Topping MD (1991) Airborne dust, ammonia, microorganisms, and antigens in pig

con-finement houses and the respiratory health of exposed

farm workers. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 52, 271-279 Curtis SE, Anderson CR, Simon J, Jensen AH, Day DL,

Kelley KW ₍₁₉₇₅₎ Effects of aerial ammonia,

hydro-gen sulfide and swine-house dust on rate of _gain and respiratory tract structure in swine. J Anim Sci 41,

735-739

Doig DA, Willoughby RA (1971) Response of swine to atmospheric ammonia and organic dust. J Am Vet

Med Assoc 159, 1353-1361

Donham KJ (1986) Hazardous agents in agricultural

dusts and methods of evaluation. Am J Ind Med 10,

205-220

Donham KJ, Popendorf W, Palmgren U, Larsson L (1986) Characterisation of dust collected from swine confinement _buildings. Am J Ind Med 10, 294-297 Donham JD (1991) Association of environmental air

contaminants with disease an _productivity in swine. Am J Vet Res 52, 1723-1730

Health and _Safety Executive _{(HSE): Occupational} Medicine and _{Hygiene Laboratory (1986)} General methods for the gravimetric determination for

res-pirable and total inhalable dust. Methods for the Deter-mination of Hazardous Substances (MDHS), HSE Guidance Note MDHS, HMSO, London, 14, 1-7 Heederik D, Brouwer R, Biersteker K, Boleij JSM ₍₁₉₉₁₎

Relationship of airborne endotoxin and bacteria lev-els in _pig farms with the _lung function and respiratory

symptoms of farmers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health

62, 595-601

Larsson K, Eklund A, Malmberg P, Bein L (1992) Alter-ations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid but not in lung

function and bronchial _{responsiveness} in swine

con-finement workers. Chest 101, 767-774

Larsson K, Eklund AG, Hansson LO, lsaksson BM,

Malmberg PO _(1994). Swine dust causes intensive airways inflammation in healthy subjects. Am J Respir

Crit Care Med 150, 973-977

Michel 0, Ginanni R, Duchateau J, Vertongen F, Le Bon

B, Sergysels R (1991) Domestic endotoxin

expo-sure and clinical severity of asthma. Clin _{Exp Allergy} 21, 441-448

Pickrell JA, Heber AJ, Murphy JP et al (1993) Charac-terisation of particles, ammonia and endotoxin in swine confinement _operations. Vet Hum Toxicol35,

421-428

Urbain B, Gustin P, Prouvost JF, Ansay M, Michel 0,

Nicks B (1993) Microclimat et composition de I’air dans une enceinte ferm6e destin6e a 1’6tude de la toxicité des polluants amosph6riques chez le