Comparison of low-cost and innovative methods for monitoring the bakery's flour indoor emission

The particulate matter (PM) monitoring becomes everyday more valuable. It's well known that PM exposure is related to health effects. Moreover, the worker exposure is strongly regulated by Health Organization and National Laws. Handmade bread recipes have very long tradition especially in southern Italy Altamura bread is artisan bread typical of Apulia region. It is famous in Italy as one of the finest and oldest types of bread; it is a European Union Protected Designation of Origin product (EU PDO). In this work, we present the application of a passive method and an innovative sensor developed for monitoring wheat flour dust exposure in bread-producing places. The combination of both the methods is targeted to generate a PM indoor diffusion model, and produce a low cost approach for this specific monitoring activity. The generality of the approach for any type of dusty working environment is self evident. Experiments are carried out in a bakery of Santeramo in Colle (Italy).