Bioaerosols in an Underground Tourist Trail

Wlazło, Łukasz; Kasela, Martyna; Nowakowicz-Dębek, Bożena; Ossowski, Mateusz; Malm, Anna

doi:10.15244/pjoes/116607

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 33 publications

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“…Indoor fungal pollution has become an increasing concern [1,2]. Fungi are closely related to the respiratory tract diseases of indoor occupants [3,4]. Allergy, infection and inflammation caused by fungal exposure account for more than 30% of people's incidence rate [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aerosolization Potential of Fungal Spores from the Colony Growing on HVAC Ducts

Li¹

2022

Pol. J. Environ. Stud.

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Fungal spores can be detached from the ventilation duct and then transmitted indoors. As airflow sweeps the ventilation duct, it may decelerate in the boundary layer, and the resulting spore detachment may vary according to the position of the fungal colony. This study investigated the aerosolization potential of Aspergillus niger spores from the inner surface of four typical ventilation ducts. The airflow near the duct surface was numerically solved to determine the local air speed distribution at the height of the growing fungi. The results revealed that the spores growing at the center of the rectangular duct surface were more easily aerosolized than that growing at the corner. When the inlet air speed was 5.00 m/s, the spores of the 4-and 10-day-old colonies could not be detached when the dimensionless displacements of the circular tube were larger than 0.27 and 2.43, respectively. The aerosolization potential of spores increased with the β value and the constriction angle of the reducer. The maximum value of the local dimensionless air speed for the contraction angle of 50 o (4.5) was greater than that for the contraction angle of 20 o (4.0). Such information is useful for indoor mold contamination control.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aerosolization Potential of Fungal Spores from the Colony Growing on HVAC Ducts

Li¹

2022

Pol. J. Environ. Stud.

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Mineralogical and Chemical Tracing of Dust Variation in an Underground Historic Salt Mine

2021

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The aim of this study was to investigate the causes of the evolution of atmospheric dust composition in an open-to-public subterranean site (UNESCO-recognized historic mine) at increasing distances from the air intake. The role of the components imported with atmospheric air from the surface was compared with natural and anthropogenic sources of dust from inside the mine. Samples of deposited dust were directly collected from flat surfaces at 11 carefully selected sites. The morphological, mineralogical, and chemical characteristics were obtained using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP). The study showed that the air in the underground salt mine was free of pollutants present in the ambient air on the surface. Most of the components sucked into the mine by the ventilation system from the surface (regular dust, particulate matter, gaseous pollutants, biogenic particles, etc.) underwent quick and instantaneous sedimentation in the close vicinity of the air inlet to the mine. The dust settled in the mine interior primarily consisted of natural geogenic particles, locally derived from the weathering of the host rock (halite, anhydrite, and aluminosilicates). This was confirmed by low values of enrichment factors (EF) calculated for minor and trace elements. Only one site, due to the tourist railroad and the associated local intensive tourist traffic, represented the anthropogenic sources of elevated concentrations of ferruginous particles and accompanied metals (P, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, As, Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Pb, and W). The gravitational deposition of pollutants from these sources limits the effects of the emissions to the local range. The used methodology and the results are universal and might also apply to other mines, caves, or underground installations used for museums, tourists, or speleotherapeutic purposes.

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Bioaerosols in an Underground Tourist Trail

Cited by 2 publications

References 33 publications

Aerosolization Potential of Fungal Spores from the Colony Growing on HVAC Ducts

Aerosolization Potential of Fungal Spores from the Colony Growing on HVAC Ducts

Mineralogical and Chemical Tracing of Dust Variation in an Underground Historic Salt Mine

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