Study Assesses Exposure to PAA for Food Processing Employee Safety

With peracetic acid (PAA) being used more in food processing operations, a study reported in Meatingplace looked at exposure levels to employees who work in poultry facilities.  In summary, the level of exposure to employees was below proposed threshold limits for health and safety, but the researchers recommended additional work is needed.

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Study assesses poultry workers’ exposure to peracetic acid
By Tom Johnston on 2/13/2018
Results from a USPOULTRY-funded study to assess poultry workers’ exposure to peracetic acid (PAA) fell well below proposed national limits, but scientists are calling for further exploration in processing plants to further limit exposure.

The research, conducted by the Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation in Atlanta, comes as peracetic acid use as a disinfectant increases in the food and medical industries. The work was done in four poultry processing plants to assess factors to help minimize exposure of PAA, or its component chemicals, to workers.

The concentration of the PAA solutions being used in the plants in areas where employees are located ranged from 50 parts of PAA per million parts of water (ppm) to as high as 800 ppm.

In addition to traditional industrial hygiene sampling, employees were fitted with real-time monitors. All traditionally collected samples analyzed for hydrogen peroxide were below the limit of detection. Sampling results for acetic acid were all less than 1 ppm, which is well below the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 10 ppm. Traditionally collected PAA samples were analyzed using the Hecht/SKC method and results ranged from 0.037 ppm to 0.54 ppm. Results for PAA using the real-time monitor ranged from non-detection to 0.339 ppm.

The scientists compared results to proposed levels of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The ACGIH in 2014 set a threshold limit value (TLV) or short term exposure limit (STEL) for PAA of 0.4 parts per million (ppm), calculated as a 15-minute time weighted average (TWA).

In 2015, NIOSH published a draft immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) value for PAA of 0.64 ppm. The research results fall well below these proposed threshold levels, they said.

However, the researchers recommended additional employee monitoring to increase the validity/robustness of this study. They also recommended further study in the following areas to further reduce potential PAA exposures in the poultry plant environment:

• Examine the ventilation throughout facilities with relationship to the placement of application sources of PAA.
• Evaluate areas of standing water, such as drip pans positioned under conveyor lines and their effect on PAA levels.
• Determine the accuracy of sampling methods in locations of processing facilities where PAA is applied as a spray.
• Investigate drainage systems throughout the plants as a source of PAA exposure.