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Gerd Hamscher,¹ Heike Theresia Pawelzick,¹ Silke Sczesny,^1,* Heinz Nau,¹ and Jörg Hartung²

¹Department of Food Toxicology, and ²Institute for Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Behaviour of Farm Animals, School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany

Abstract
Pig-house dust originates from feed, bedding, feces, and the animals themselves. If the animals receive drugs such as antibiotics, residues of these substances may occur in manure, in the air, or on surfaces of the respective animal house. In a retrospective study, we investigated dust samples collected during two decades from the same piggery for the occurrence of various antibiotics. In 90% of these samples, we detected up to five different antibiotics, including tylosin, various tetracyclines, sulfamethazine, and chloramphenicol, in total amounts up to 12.5 mg/kg dust. High dust exposure in animal confinement buildings is believed to be a respiratory health hazard because of the high content of microorganisms, endotoxins, and allergens. Further risks may arise from the inhalation of dust contaminated with a cocktail of antibiotics. Apart from that, our data provide first evidence for a new route of entry for veterinary drugs in the environment. Key words: antibiotics, dust, farmer, liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, pig fattening, veterinary drugs. Environ Health Perspect 111:1590-1594 (2003) . doi:10.1289/ehp.6288 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 18 June 2003]