Airborne microbiological characteristics in public buildings of Korea

Hong

et al. 2012

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

The number concentrations of total culturable bacterial bioaerosols in seven public restroom environments were measured via a standard measurement method provided by the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea. Outdoor bioaerosols were also measured to compare with data collected in public restrooms. The measurements were conducted for one year, with varying concentrations of airborne bacterial bioaerosols observed in public restrooms. The effect of the number of users on the concentration of bioaerosols in public restrooms was also analyzed. The experimental results provided useful and basic information for the study and development of control methods against bioaerosols in public restrooms.

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacterial Bioaerosol Concentrations in Public Restroom Environments

Hong

et al. 2012

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

“…The higher respirable fraction possibly implied the adverse health effect, such as asthma or allergy, would happen on those sensitive labors. Comparing with Kims' study (Kim and Kim, 2007), R b and R f ranged from 32.0-38.1% and 58.9-69.1%, the higher respirable fraction in the decorating engineering implies a higher adverse health risk for sensitive workers, and warrants further investigation. Table 2 listed the result of spearman's rank correlation test.…”

Section: Level Of Bioaerosol Concentrationmentioning

confidence: 67%

Measurement of Air Quality during a Decorating Engineering

Wang

Tsai

Lin

et al. 2014

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

Air quality studies during a decorating engineering in northern Taiwan were carried out. Sampling was undertaken during the decorating engineering including the dismantling old decorating, water and electrical pipe engineering, tiling engineering, window installation, pre-system furniture installation, flooring engineering, post-system furniture installation and finishing engineering. The levels of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), formaldehyde (HCHO), temperature, relative humidity and bacterial/fungal concentrations were recorded during the decorating engineering. Results show that the averaged CO concentrations ranged from 1.05 to 22.1 ppm during various engineering. The averaged HCHO concentrations ranged from 0.08 to 0.69 ppm and the HCHO increased apparently after system furniture installation. The averaged PM 2.5 and PM 10 concentrations ranged from 97.2 to 6,445 µg/m 3 and 129 to 6,837 µg/m 3 , respectively. The PM concentrations for the tiling engineering were more than two times of the recommended exposure limit (REL) of respirable particles of 5 mg/m 3 . The mean respirable fractions, R b and R f , for bacteria and fungi, ranged from 27.8%-97.0% and 29.4%-93.8%, respectively. It should be noticeable that over 75% of R b and R f were higher than 50% during the decorating engineering. The relatively high respirable fractions of bioaerosols and the high PM concentrations for some specific decorating engineering probably implies a higher adverse health risk for sensitive workers. There are limited information about the air quality for the decorating engineering and this preliminary study can provide references to the Taiwan government on air quality management for workplaces.

“…In a study of bacteria and fungi in the indoor air in public buildings in Korea, total average concentrations were 404 and 382 CFU/ m 3 , 931 and 536 CFU/m 3 , and 294 and 334 CFU/m 3 for hospitals, kindergartens, and nursing homes, respectively. The differences were statistically significant (30). In a study on environmental measurements in 13 classes of 6 schools in the US state of Florida, bacteria, fungi, and allergens were analyzed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indoor air quality in primary schools in Keçiören, Ankara

Babayiğit¹,

Bakir²,

Tekbaş³

et al. 2014

Turk J Med Sci

IntroductionPrimary education is the largest public enterprise in Turkey, employing 484,161 teachers who instruct over 10 million children in 344,710 classrooms and 31,176 schools (1).School health programs are inclusive of the location and layout of the school, school building construction features, status, materials used, infrastructure facilities, plumbing safety, indoor air quality and water quality levels, toilets, playing areas, heating and lighting levels, service hygiene, and prevention of bio-geo-physicochemical pollution in the schools (2,3). A healthy and safe school environment encompasses the physical surroundings and the psychosocial, learning, and health-promoting environment of the school (4).These programs should include the health assessment of the students and school staff, developing, achieving, and maintaining a healthy school life for not only students, but also for school staff (5). They target the state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being of students, teachers, and the other staff in schools (6).Air pollution is formed by a complex mixture of many pollutants. The potential health risks of air pollution vary depending on the content of this mixture, the amount and the hours of the occurrence, and the day or time of year. However, in recent years, due to the cost of energy, building designs allow less air exchange, and both the chemicals used in the construction of household goods and furniture in homes and schools and the microbiological and allergic organisms in indoor environments have become more threatening (7). In particular, children, who spend 80% to 90% of their time in indoor environments such as home, child care, school, or after-school care, constitute a risk group in this sense (8). Despite the large population and concerns regarding poor indoor air quality (IAQ), systematic assessments of IAQ and health and comfort issues have rarely been undertaken in schools (9).Preschool and school-aged children often spend significant periods of time in school settings. These settings are often the first significant indoor exposure for the children to a physical environment different from the home (10). Exposure may be especially likely in portable classrooms containing composite wood products (e.g., Aim: To increase the awareness of environmental risk factors by determining the indoor air quality status of primary schools. Materials and methods:Indoor air quality parameters in 172 classrooms of 31 primary schools in Keçiören, Ankara, were examined for the purpose of assessing the levels of air pollutants (CO, CO 2 , SO 2 , NO 2 , and formaldehyde) within primary schools.Results: Schools near heavy traffic had a statistically significant mean average of CO and SO 2 (P < 0.05). The classrooms that had more than 35 students had higher and statistically significant averages of CO 2 , SO 2 , NO 2 , and formaldehyde compared to classrooms that had fewer than 35 students (P < 0.05). Of all classrooms, 29% had 100 CFU/100 mL and higher concentrations of microorganisms, which were n...