Background: Microscopic fungi are the biological agent of occupational risk in the woodworking environment. Microbiological and chemical methods were used for determination of their concentration and species composition in dust. Material and Methods: Dust was sampled in 3 factories producing furniture using different materials. The 1st factory (A) processes solid wood, the 2nd (B) -chipboards and the 3rd factory (C) uses both wood and wood composites. The samples were collected in 12 different workstations and locations in each factory. The quantitative content of fungal biomass was determined basing on analysis of ergosterol (ERG). The species composition of fungi was analyzed using the microbiological method basing on culture morphology. Results: The concentration of ergosterol was relatively low and ranged from 0.012 mg/kg to 3.36 mg/kg. The average value of ERG amounted to 1.25 mg/kg in factories A and C and 1.15 mg/kg in factory B. The most frequently isolated fungi in factory A and B were Penicillum and Aspergillus. However, in the factory C, only Trichoderma was isolated. The maximum concentration of fungi in dust collected in factory B was 2377 cfu/g and it is 3 times more than in the dust from factories A and C. Conclusions: Workers of furniture factories may be exposed to airborne fungi associated with the wood dust posing health hazard. The content of these fungi is relatively small (ERG -max: 3.36 mg/kg) but the species, especially genera Penicillum and Aspergillus, found in the dust which were reported as having allergic and toxic properties. Med Pr 2014;65(6): [705][706][707][708][709][710][711][712][713]

The study specifies the value of the dust resistance coefficient in the process of wood dust filtration in a pilot-scale test stand. The experiments were carried out for one type of filter material—polyester with a PP film previously used in different production lines. Filter bags from the filtering installation of the processing line for narrow surfaces of furniture panels of the honeycomb structure with a chipboard frame, HDF, natural veneer cladding, and a line of CNC drilling machines, were taken into account. Before the pilot-scale tests, the bags had been in use in industrial installations from zero to nine months. All tests were performed under identical filtration conditions. The values of the dust resistance coefficient depend on the operating time and the conditions in which filtration is carried out in an industrial plant, and increased from 6507 s−1 to 10,208 s−1 for the bags from the filter of the narrow surfaces processing line and to 29,729 s−1 for the bags from the filter of the drilling line. The most important factor influencing the properties of the filter bag in the process of wood dust filtration in an industrial filter is the cleaning pulses frequency.

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