For some individuals with peanut allergies, just inhaling peanut dust can be deadly. But did you know how easy it is for food particles to become airborne? This video clip, produced using a technique called laser light sheet imaging, shows how microscopic particles can become airborne – and spread throughout the space you're in – just from opening or closing a package. NIST uses imaging like this to show how drugs can spread in enclosed spaces, information that is key for first responders, forensic chemists and other law enforcement officials. But understanding the spread is relevant for all of us, especially when it comes to locations like classrooms and airplanes.
Interesting! I'm curious how this applies to food particles as opposed to dust. It makes sense why so many schools are doing away with birthday treats altogether for school-aged kids, especially with the rise of severe nut allergies and how easily those proteins spread.
This is a really important topic. There's some similar interesting (and disturbing) work on aerosol generation from toilets relating to the ways pathogens are spread around the environment, especially by the high-powered "self-cleaning" toilets often used in high traffic public washrooms (word to the wise: search for images with the term "toilet plume" - and then wear an N95 in public washrooms so you don't breathe the contents of one!). Overall there's a growing recognition of the central role of aerosol behaviour in disease transmission, as historical errors in the medical understanding of aerosol transmission are brought out into the open. There's a fascinating section in the recent Module 3 report of the UK COVID Inquiry on how misinformation about aerosols caused an enormous number of unnecessary deaths (s1.50-1.86). https://lnkd.in/p/gb7kKiea
Very interesting visualization! One important distinction, however, is that airborne particles are not necessarily the same thing as a clinically significant airborne allergen exposure. A 2021 study published in Clinical & Experimental Allergy exposed 84 peanut-allergic children to peanuts at a distance of 0.5 m for 30 minutes. No moderate or severe allergic reactions occurred, although very small amounts of biologically active peanut protein could be detected in the air. So perhaps the interesting question is not simply “can particles from peanuts become airborne?” — clearly they can — but rather “how much allergenic peanut protein becomes airborne, and is the inhaled dose sufficient to trigger a systemic allergic reaction?” From a particle-measurement perspective, I find that distinction particularly interesting: detecting a particle, identifying what it contains, and determining whether the resulting dose is clinically relevant are three very different things. Study: Peanuts in the air – clinical and experimental studies, Clinical & Experimental Allergy (2021)
Fascinating demonstration of laser light sheet imaging! It’s staggering how standard packaging actions-like simply tearing or opening a container-can instantly aerosolize microscopic particles into an enclosed environment. Beyond food allergen risks in high-density spaces like airplanes, this has huge implications for hazmat handling, occupational safety, and containment protocol design. High-level visualization makes invisible risks tangible.
Everyone working with powders or particles should see this demo. Particle contamination is a very misunderstood en underestimated topic.
Following this great illustration from NIST, I’d like to highlight a key parameter that is often overlooked when working with « dusty » materials: dustiness—the propensity of a powder to become airborne during handling. Whether you are managing occupational health and safety, environmental exposure, or material processing, quantifying the inhalable, thoracic, and respirable fractions released by a powder is essential for proper risk assessment. As France's National Metrology Institute (NMI), LNE provides comprehensive testing and characterization services to determine powder dustiness in strict compliance with international standards (CEN ISO/TS 12025:2015 & EN 17199-5 : 2019) 🔒 Looking to qualify your materials, optimize process safety, or evaluate nanomaterial emissions? 👉 Feel free to reach out to me directly or connect to discuss how we can assist your projects. Nicolas HERTEL Axel Fouqueau
Excellent video. Is it possible to obtain a copy of the video for use in my contamination education classes?
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That's a very interesting imaging technique!
The rise of peanut allergies is a facinating topic. We banned them, now magnitudes more ppl are alergic and much more so.