A review of agricultural and environmental airborne dust

This literature review deals with the well-known problem of environmental dusts and it sources in agriculture which severely affects the human health, agriculture and environment. Airborne contaminants can occur in the gaseous form (gases and vapors) or as aerosols, which include airborne dusts, sprays, mists, smokes and fumes. Dust is defined as particles with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤10 μm. This definition conforms to criteria used to describe particulate matter as a pollutant. Particulate matter (PM) having an aerodynamic diameter of ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) and ≤10 μm (PM10) are both regulated as pollutants. Sources that contribute to the dust load in the atmosphere can be classified as either point or nonpoint sources. Point sources emit dust into the atmosphere from a specific source or location, whereas nonpoint sources emit dust into the atmosphere from diffuse or widespread areas. Dust can be generated by a multitude of activities within the agricultural industry. These activities might include traveling on unpaved roads, using an internal combustion engine, stockpiling manure, transporting feed or fiber from the field to market, feeding livestock, cleaning pens or machines, aerial spraying, and welding. This article focuses attention on agricultural sources of dust and, where possible, strategies to control dust emissions from these sources and strives to recognize a) the hazardous ingredients of soil that can be emitted into the atmosphere and cause cancer, and b) two main sources of agricultural dust that pollute the atmosphere, namely agricultural facilities and lands.

کلیدواژه ها:

Environment ، Agriculture ، Dust ، Pollutant ، Cancer