Abstract

In Gaspé and along the North Shore, approximately 2 000 workers in crab-processing plants are exposed to airborne proteins capable of causing occupational asthma. In light of the impending return to intensive fishing likely to follow current efforts at reestablishing the crab stocks, the CSST and the Regional Health and Social Services Board have asked the IRSST to develop a technique to monitor airborne crab proteins.The method consists of aspiration at 2 L/min of air through a cassette equipped with a Teflon™ filter. Trapped proteins are eluted with a solution of 0.001% Triton™ and their concentration determined by visible-spectrum spectrophotometry. The method developed by the IRSST has been tested in two plants and is only suitable for the measurement of proteins present in the air of crab-processing plants. It appears sufficiently sensitive to prove useful to specialists attempting to eliminate exposure at the source.