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Aeroallergen sampling
Published in Richard F. Lockey, Dennis K. Ledford, Allergens and Allergen Immunotherapy, 2020
Estelle Levetin, Josh D. McLoud
Bioaerosols are a significant component of the atmosphere as well as indoor air. Many bioaerosols impact human health causing infectious or allergic diseases, and air sampling is a valuable tool to estimate exposure to these organisms.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Practical and Theoretical Considerations
Published in Brian J. Lukey, James A. Romano, Salem Harry, Chemical Warfare Agents, 2019
Particulate size is important, because solid and liquid aerosol particles smaller than 10 μm can aggravate health conditions and be the causative agent of respiratory problems in humans. Although the respiratory tract of healthy humans can filter out particles as small as 3–5 μm, smaller micron and sub-micron particulate matter can present health risks. An individual virus particle may range anywhere between 0.005 and 0.1 μm, and its principal method of filter capture would be diffusion. However, viruses generally do not become airborne as individual particles but rather, form an aerosol attached to mucous particles or other material; as the size of these aerosols changes, so does the method of their capture (Whitt, 2016a). Bioaerosols are an assembly of biological particles (bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.) suspended in a gaseous medium (e.g., air). These rapidly desiccate (lose water content) with travel from the source; aerosols of smaller particle size remain airborne longer, while aerosols of larger particle size fall out. The human sneeze is a tremendous producer of bioaerosols, producing up to 40,000 droplets per sneeze. However, coughing and simply talking also produce these aerosols. The dried residuals of these large-sized aerosols are referred to as droplet nuclei, with a resultant size of 0.5 to 12 μm. Other sources of infectious bioaerosols emanate from (1) wet sources, including cooling tower water (Legionella), (2) dry sources, including construction dusts with Aspergillus fumigatus spores, or indoor dusts with Hantavirus (Viroblock, 2016b).
Characterizing Outdoor Air Using Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds (MVOCs)
Published in Raquel Cumeras, Xavier Correig, Volatile organic compound analysis in biomedical diagnosis applications, 2018
Sonia Garcia-Alcega, Frédéric Coulon
Bioaerosols are defined as the biological particles present in aerosols that originate from plants, animals and microbes (Gómez-Domenech et al., 2010). They are ubiquitous in the environment, and their small particle size ranging between 10 nm and 2.5 µm means that they easily propagate in air (Prospero et al., 2005). Among bioaerosols, some are pathogens, and recent studies have shown that chronic exposure can induce adverse human health effects such as respiratory diseases, infections (Sharma et al., 2015) and asthma (Ghosh et al., 2015; O’Connor et al., 2015). Consequently, bioaerosols emissions from industrial, urban and agricultural environments such as wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), composting facilities and other bio-waste processing plants have raised public concerns as the concentrations can be potentially high and cause a negative impact on local air quality (Macklin et al., 2011; Pankhurst et al., 2012).
The role of oxidative stress in pulmonary function in bakers exposed to flour dust
Published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2022
Vahid Gharibi, Mohammad Hossein Ebrahimi, Esmaeel Soleimani, Narges Khanjani, Anahita Fakherpour, Majid Bagheri Hosseinabadi
Wheat flour dust is a complex organic compound containing various antigens and allergic compounds [1]. The antigens found in wheat flour include the enzymes in flour itself (e.g., α-amylase, cellulase, hemicellulose, maltase, protease, lipase, glucoamylase, glucosidase, lipoxygenase) or from additives (e.g., bakery yeast, egg powder, milk powder, sugar, flavors, spices), chemical compounds (e.g., preservatives, antioxidants, bleaching agents) and contaminants associated with storage (e.g., microbes, mites) [2]. In addition, wheat flour includes water-soluble albumin, saline-soluble globulins, gliadins and glutens [2]. Albumins and globulins are potentially allergic proteins. The allergic potential of prolamins and glutelins should also be considered. According to Sander et al. [3], flour dust has at least 40 allergens, which can cause harmful health effects in the exposed population. Exposure to flour dust occurs in a wide range of food industries, including flour mills and bakeries. The type of interaction between the bioaerosol particles and human cells depends on the part of the respiratory tract where the particles deposit.
Pollution characteristics and noncarcinogenic risk assessment of fungal bioaerosol in different processing units of waste paper and cardboard recycling factory
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2021
Abbas Norouzian Baghani, Armin Sorooshian, Mahdieh Delikhoon, Ramin Nabizadeh, Shahrokh Nazmara, Rounak Bakhtiari
This was the first study of the nature of bioaerosols and health risk assessment in the workers of a WPCRF in the capital of Iran (Tehran). The results provided a detailed picture of the concentration profile of different fungi in different processing units of the WPCRF in the winter. The findings showed significant concentrations of bioaerosols in the air of the WPCRF. In particular, the manual separation route one and conveyor belt produced high levels of bioaerosols. Furthermore, a high frequency of fungal species in the air of all operational units in the WPCRF, including Penicillium sp., Cladosporium sp., Aspergillus niger, Alternaria sp., and Rhizopus sp., indicated that the health of the WPCRF workers that stayed inside the WPCRF for a long time might be at risk. The LADDinhalation in processing units ranged from 1.49 × 10−3 to 7.8 × 10−3 CFU (kg.d)−1, while the LADDdermal ranged from 2.74 × 10−6 to 6.29 × 10−6 CFU (kg.d)−1. The HQ and HI of bioaerosols were less than one, indicating “an acceptable hazard”. Although the numerical value of HQ and HI of bioaerosols were less than 1 and within an “acceptable level”, this study highlights the importance of decreasing fungal emissions in WPCRFs, designing proper ventilation and air conditioning systems, and using PPE such as N95 respirator masks, safety goggles, and gloves for reducing hazards.
Respiratory symptoms and lung functional impairments associated with occupational exposure to poultry house pollutants
Published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2021
Masoud Neghab, Ali Ebrahimi, Esmaeel Soleimani
For bioaerosols, 10-min air samples were collected using a single-stage Anderson impactor according to the NIOSH sampling and analytical method [30]. Sampling media were malt extract agar (MEA) for fungi and trypticase soy agar (TSA) for mesophilic bacteria and thermophilic actinomycetes. Before sampling, each sampler was carefully and thoroughly disinfected and wiped with 70% ethanol solution. Pre-test experiments showed that the appropriate sampling time was 10 min and thus the samples were collected at a flow rate of 28.3 L/min for a period of 10 min. After sampling, the collected samples were kept on ice in a cold box and quickly transferred to a laboratory for analysis. Bacterial and fungal genera and species were identified by an expert microbiologist. Dry temperature and relative humidity were also measured and recorded in the poultry houses.