[USCC] Is Aspergillus Fumigatus a problem

[Matthew Cotton]

Myron -

I imagine you will get a number of good posts from people who know  
more about this than I. You may want to check directly with Pat  
Millner (Pat.Millner at ARS.USDA.GOV) at USDA who has done significant  
work on Aspergillus; or Eliot Epstein (epsteinee at comcast.net).

I am not aware of any studies showing an increase in health problems  
among compost site employees. Dr. Epstein often uses this "canary in  
a coal mine" analogy when explaining the relative risks of  
Aspergillus to the larger public and neighbors of composting  
facilities - i.e., that if there was a significant problem the  
compost site employees would likely be the first victims, yet this  
isn't evident. That said, there are some management practices which  
can minimize Aspergillus transport and exposure.

If you go to the web site for the California Integrated Waste  
Management Board (http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/) and do a search on  
"Aspergillus" you will find a number of good references which might  
be useful, including a study called "Aspergillus, Aspergillosis, and  
Composting Facilities in California" which provides a good review of  
relevant literature on the subject. The study (which quotes Millner  
and Epstein heavily) also lists a number of management practices to  
reduce exposure to Aspergillus at a composting facility, both in  
general (minimize dust producing activities) and specifically for  
employees.

Matthew Cotton
Integrated Waste Management Consulting, LLC
19375 Lake City Road
Nevada City, CA  95959
(530) 265-4560
Fax (530) 265-4547
matt at mattcotton.com
www.mattcotton.com

Join us at the US Composting Council's 16th Annual Conference & Trade  
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On Oct 1, 2007, at 5:14 AM, hirschsys at aol.com wrote:

> Has Aspergillus Fumigatus ever been documented as causing health  
> problems for compost site employees?
> ?THANKS
> Myron Hirschman
>
>
>
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