Characterization of airborne mineral dusts associated with farming activities in rural Alberta, Canada

The dry and windy climate of the Western Canadian prairie provinces, combined with large scale agricultural acitivities, results in aerosolization or organic and mineral dusts. The purpose of this study was to conduct an environmental and minerological analysis of these dusts in order to estimate the risk for pneumoconiosis in exposed farmer populations. Two districts in central/southern Alberta were chosen for study. One of these regions was …