Earth or other matter in fine, dry particles. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Finely divided solid matter with particle sizes smaller than a micrometeorite, thus with diameters much smaller than a millimeter, moving in interplanetary space. (NASA Thesaurus, 1994)

Air pollutants found in the work area. They are usually produced by the specific nature of the occupation.

Family of house dust mites, in the superfamily Analgoidea, order Astigmata. They include the genera Dermatophagoides and Euroglyphus.

Any arthropod of the subclass ACARI except the TICKS. They are minute animals related to the spiders, usually having transparent or semitransparent bodies. They may be parasitic on humans and domestic animals, producing various irritations of the skin (MITE INFESTATIONS). Many mite species are important to human and veterinary medicine as both parasite and vector. Mites also infest plants.

The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents that occurs as a result of one's occupation.

Quartz (SiO2). A glassy or crystalline form of silicon dioxide. Many colored varieties are semiprecious stones. (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)

A diffuse parenchymal lung disease caused by inhalation of dust and by tissue reaction to their presence. These inorganic, organic, particulate, or vaporized matters usually are inhaled by workers in their occupational environment, leading to the various forms (ASBESTOSIS; BYSSINOSIS; and others). Similar air pollution can also have deleterious effects on the general population.

A product of hard secondary xylem composed of CELLULOSE, hemicellulose, and LIGNANS, that is under the bark of trees and shrubs. It is used in construction and as a source of CHARCOAL and many other products.

The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents by inhaling them.

A condition of BRONCHOCONSTRICTION resulting from hypersensitive reaction to inhaled dust during the initial processing of cotton, flax, or hemp in the textile industry. Symptoms include wheezing and tightness in the chest.

Transparent, tasteless crystals found in nature as agate, amethyst, chalcedony, cristobalite, flint, sand, QUARTZ, and tridymite. The compound is insoluble in water or acids except hydrofluoric acid.

The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment.

The contamination of indoor air.

Supplies used in building.

Antigen-type substances that produce immediate hypersensitivity (HYPERSENSITIVITY, IMMEDIATE).

The surface of a structure upon which one stands or walks.

The aggregate business enterprise of manufacturing textiles. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

A natural fuel formed by partial decomposition of vegetable matter under certain environmental conditions.

Species of European house dust mite, in the family PYROGLYPHIDAE. It is the most commonly found house dust mite.

Proteins synthesized by organisms belonging to the phylum ARTHROPODA. Included in this heading are proteins from the subdivisions ARACHNIDA; CRUSTACEA; and HORSESHOE CRABS. Note that a separate heading for INSECT PROTEINS is listed under this heading.

The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in the air. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms.

Living facilities for humans.

A form of pneumoconiosis resulting from inhalation of dust containing crystalline form of SILICON DIOXIDE, usually in the form of quartz. Amorphous silica is relatively nontoxic.

Diseases in persons engaged in cultivating and tilling soil, growing plants, harvesting crops, raising livestock, or otherwise engaged in husbandry and farming. The diseases are not restricted to farmers in the sense of those who perform conventional farm chores: the heading applies also to those engaged in the individual activities named above, as in those only gathering harvest or in those only dusting crops.

Species of American house dust mite, in the family PYROGLYPHIDAE.

Ground up seed of WHEAT.

The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in the environment or to environmental factors that may include ionizing radiation, pathogenic organisms, or toxic chemicals.

Any enterprise centered on the processing, assembly, production, or marketing of a line of products, services, commodities, or merchandise, in a particular field often named after its principal product. Examples include the automobile, fishing, music, publishing, insurance, and textile industries.

The planning of the furnishings and decorations of an architectural interior.

A plant genus of the family MALVACEAE. It is the source of COTTON FIBER; COTTONSEED OIL, which is used for cooking, and GOSSYPOL. The economically important cotton crop is a major user of agricultural PESTICIDES.

Standards for limiting worker exposure to airborne contaminants. They are the maximum concentration in air at which it is believed that a particular substance will not produce adverse health effects with repeated daily exposure. It can be a time-weighted average (TLV-TWA), a short-term value (TLV-STEL), or an instantaneous value (TLV-Ceiling). They are expressed either as parts per million (ppm) or milligram per cubic meter (mg/m3).

The maximum exposure to a biologically active physical or chemical agent that is allowed during an 8-hour period (a workday) in a population of workers, or during a 24-hour period in the general population, which does not appear to cause appreciable harm, whether immediate or delayed for any period, in the target population. (From Lewis Dictionary of Toxicology, 1st ed)

Toxins closely associated with the living cytoplasm or cell wall of certain microorganisms, which do not readily diffuse into the culture medium, but are released upon lysis of the cells.

Diseases of the respiratory system in general or unspecified or for a specific respiratory disease not available.

Supplying a building or house, their rooms and corridors, with fresh air. The controlling of the environment thus may be in public or domestic sites and in medical or non-medical locales. (From Dorland, 28th ed)

Relating to the size of solids.

The care and management of property.

Any substance in the air which could, if present in high enough concentration, harm humans, animals, vegetation or material. Substances include GASES; PARTICULATE MATTER; and volatile ORGANIC CHEMICALS.

Any solid objects moving in interplanetary space that are smaller than a planet or asteroid but larger than a molecule. Meteorites are any meteoroid that has fallen to a planetary surface. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

Asbestos. Fibrous incombustible mineral composed of magnesium and calcium silicates with or without other elements. It is relatively inert chemically and used in thermal insulation and fireproofing. Inhalation of dust causes asbestosis and later lung and gastrointestinal neoplasms.

The science, art, or technology dealing with processes involved in the separation of metals from their ores, the technique of making or compounding the alloys, the techniques of working or heat-treating metals, and the mining of metals. It includes industrial metallurgy as well as metallurgical techniques employed in the preparation and working of metals used in dentistry, with special reference to orthodontic and prosthodontic appliances. (From Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p494)

A form of bronchial disorder with three distinct components: airway hyper-responsiveness (RESPIRATORY HYPERSENSITIVITY), airway INFLAMMATION, and intermittent AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION. It is characterized by spasmodic contraction of airway smooth muscle, WHEEZING, and dyspnea (DYSPNEA, PAROXYSMAL).

A type of asbestos that occurs in nature as the dihydrate of magnesium silicate. It exists in two forms: antigorite, a plated variety, and chrysotile, a fibrous variety. The latter makes up 95% of all asbestos products. (From Merck Index, 11th ed, p.893)

Respirators to protect individuals from breathing air contaminated with harmful dusts, fogs, fumes, mists, gases, smokes, sprays, or vapors.

Altered reactivity to an antigen, which can result in pathologic reactions upon subsequent exposure to that particular antigen.