A wearable real-time particulate monitor demonstrates that soaking hay reduces dust exposure

<p>Personal measures of exposure are needed in order to understand the effect of particulate matter (PM) exposures upon respiratory health. Asthma is a common respiratory disease in horses of all ages and breeds and has been linked to PM exposures from forages. A wearable, real-time PM monitor incorporating an optical particle sensor was developed to facilitate exposure studies in horses. Side by side sampling with tapered element oscillating microbalances (TEOMs) under varying concentrations of organic hay dust allowed characterization of the monitors' performance as well as calibration for correction of raw data with a PM source pertinent to equine studies. The monitors were found to perform with good precision but require significant correction of raw data to provide accurate estimates of gravimetric PM exposures. The monitors proved useful in demonstrating a difference in PM exposures when horses are fed dry hay compared to when they are fed soaked hay.</p>