Exposure to airborne fungi during sorting of recyclable plastics in waste treatment facilities

Abstract

Background: In working environment of waste treatment facilities, employees are exposed to high concentrations of airborne microorganisms. Fungi constitute an essential part of them. This study aims at evaluating the diurnal variation in concentrations and species composition of the fungal contamination in 2 plastic waste sorting facilities in different seasons. Material and Methods: Air samples from the 2 sorting facilities were collected through the membrane filters method on 4 different types of cultivation media. Isolated fungi were classified to genera or species by using a light microscopy. Results: Overall, the highest concentrations of airborne fungi were recorded in summer (9.1×10 3 -9.0×10 5 colony-forming units (CFU)/m

Prevalência e fatores associados a doenças respiratórias e diarreia em trabalhadores de cooperativas de materiais recicláveis da cidade de São Paulo: estudo transversal, 2013*

“…The wide variety of fungi identified in the cooperatives has also been detected in other studies of waste sorting environments. [14][15][16][17] The results found by our study are in keeping with the studies cited, when they report dominance of the Penicillium spp. and Aspergillus spp.…”

“…Some studies conducted in waste sorting centers point to high amplitude of fungi concentration in the air (between 650 UFC/m 3 and 9x10 5 UFC/m 3 ), varying according to the sample site, the method used and the way in which the samples were processed. [14][15][16] These values are above the mean values found in the cooperatives we studied, and the low values we found could be related to the small number of samples collected, the method used or the smaller quantity of waste handled. Values slightly above 650 UFC/m 3 were only found in the conveyor belt and compactor areas of Cooperative C, where handling of waste is greater.…”

The Dose of Fungal Aerosol Inhaled by Workers in a Waste-Sorting Plant in Poland: A Case Study

“…Following a comparison of the qualitative composition of the microorganisms isolated from air samples in the two cabins (PSP and QSP), a predominance of the following species was noted: in the PSP, the predominant species were Aspergillus flavus (31%), Aspergillus phoenicis (24.9%), Penicillium chrysogenum (26.6%), and Cladosporium cladosporioides (17.5%), while in the QSP, the predominant species were Aspergillus flavus (53.4%) and Penicillium chrysogenum (46.6%). These fungal species were also detected in air samples from waste-sorting facilities in several other studies [9,17,44,45].…”

“…When evaluating employee EX to bioaerosols, it is also necessary to identify the composition of species since their harmfulness to humans varies [4,17]. The air inside of WSPs is mainly characterized by the occurrence of fungi from the Aspergillus and Penicillium genera [18][19][20][21].…”

“…The air inside of WSPs is mainly characterized by the occurrence of fungi from the Aspergillus and Penicillium genera [18][19][20][21]. These contain species able to produce mycotoxins and pose a direct health risk to workers [17]. Moreover, microscopic fungi represent a highly diverse group, and different species may not have similar harmfulness [22].…”