| Agent Name |
Wood dust, all soft and hard woods |
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| Major Category |
Biological Agents |
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| Category |
Wood Dusts & Extracts |
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| Description |
Dust from various types of wood; |
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| Comments |
Softwood dust is associated with squamous cell carcinoma, and hardwood dust is associated with adenocarcinoma of the nasal cavity. An increased risk for nasal sinus cancer exists for sawmill workers, furniture workers, wood products workers, and carpenters. No increased risk exists for workers in forestry, logging, or paper and pulp. [Dement J. Wood Dust. In: Bingham E, Cohrssen B, Powell C, eds. Patty's Toxicology, 5th ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 2001:619-49] The nontropical woods such as white pine rarely cause allergic contact dermatitis in carpenters. [Marks, p.314] Western red cedar is a common cause of occupational asthma in the U.S. Pacific Northwest where it affects sawmill workers, shingle makers, carpenters, construction workers, and cabinet makers. [Asthma in the Workplace, p. 506] There are many other wood dusts that can cause asthma including oak, mahogany, African maple, Central American walnut, ash, ebony, cinnamon, etc. IARC classifies hardwoods as human carcinogens. ACGIH designates oak and beech as A1 (confirmed human carcinogens), birch, mahogany, teak, and walnut as A2 (suspected human carcinogens), and Western red cedar and all other wood dusts as A4 (not classifiable). |
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| Reference Link |
Indices of asthma among atopic and non-atopic woodworkers. |
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| Exposure Assessment |
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| Skin Designation (ACGIH) |
No |
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| TLV (ACGIH) |
1 mg/m3, inhalable fraction (beech,oak, birch,mahogany, teak,walnut and other hardwoods) |
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| Adverse Effects |
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| Asthma |
Yes |
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| Chronic Bronchitis |
Yes |
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| Skin Sensitizer |
Yes |
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| IARC Carcinogen |
Known Carcinogen |
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| Links to Other NLM Databases |
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