Rare occurrence of airborne bioparticles in a speleotherapy site: the case study of the Sant’Aloisio disused siderite mine (Brescia, Italy)

Cristofori, Alessandro; Cristofolini, F.; Gottardini, E.

doi:10.1007/s10453-019-09612-z

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The presence of pollen grains and fungal spores mainly in samples collected in the air supply tunnel suggests that they originated from outside. This contradicts some views that pollen grains are brought unintentionally by humans into the areas of the mine exclusively used for speleotherapy (Cristofori et al 2020 ; Myszkowska et al 2019 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 86%

Origin, distribution, and perspective health benefits of particulate matter in the air of underground salt mine: a case study from Bochnia, Poland

Puławska

Manecki

Flasza

et al. 2021

Environ Geochem Health

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The composition and distribution of airborne particles in different locations in a salt mine were determined in terms of their origin, the distance from the air inlet, and the adaptation of post-mining chambers and corridors for tourists and general audience. The composition of aerosols in air was also evaluated from the perspective of human health. Air samples were collected on filters by using portable air pumps, in a historical underground salt mine in Bochnia (Poland), which is currently a touristic and recreation attraction and sanatorium. The particulate matter (PM) concentration was determined using the gravimetric method by weighing quartz filters. The content of carbon, water-soluble constituents, trace elements, and minerals was also determined. A genetic classification of the suspended matter was proposed and comprised three groups: geogenic (fragments of rock salt and associated minerals from the deposit), anthropogenic (carbon-bearing particles from tourist traffic and small amounts of fly ash, soot, and rust), and biogenic particles (occasional pollen). The total PM concentration in air varied between 21 and 79 μg/m3 (with PM4 constituting 4–24 μg/m3). The amount of atmospheric dust components coming from the surface was low and decreased with the distance from the intake shaft, thus indicating the self-cleaning process. NaCl dominated the water-soluble constituents, while Fe, Al, Ag, Mn, and Zn dominated the trace elements, with the concentration of majority of them below 30 ng/m3. These metals are released into air from both natural sources and the wear or/and corrosion of mining and tourists facilities in the underground functional space. No potentially toxic elements or constituents were detected. The presence of salt particles and salty spray in the atmosphere of salt mine, which may have anti-inflammatory and antiallergic properties, is beneficial to human health. This study will allow for a broader look at the potential of halotherapy in underground salt mines from a medical and regulatory point of view.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 86%

Origin, distribution, and perspective health benefits of particulate matter in the air of underground salt mine: a case study from Bochnia, Poland

Puławska

Manecki

Flasza

et al. 2021

Environ Geochem Health

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“…In all cases, compared to GenBank database, the sequence similarity of 99-100% was achieved. Among isolated microorganisms, the most prevalent indoors were Gram-positive cocci from Micrococcus and Staphylococcus genera (often accounted for at least 50% [35][36][37], siderite mine used for speleotherapy in Brescia [38], salt mines health resorts in Wieliczka and Polkowice-Sieroszowice [39,40], the data collected in this study showed a much greater qualitative spectrum of airborne microorganisms. The detection of more qualitatively complex microbiota was probably possible due to the use of a high-performance analytical approach combining the air sampling using 6-stage Andersen impactor with laboratory analysis of the resulted samples using biochemical and molecular identification methods of isolated microbial strains.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size distribution of microbial aerosols in overground and subterranean treatment chambers at health resorts

Górny

Frączek

Ropek

2020

J Environ Health Sci Engineer

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Purpose to perform comparative analyzes of the size distributions of bacteria and fungi in the air of overground therapy chambers in Szczawnica sanatorium and subterranean inhalation chambers in Bochnia Salt Mine health resort taking into account influence of the season and presence of pathogenic species. Methods bioaerosol samples were collected using 6-stage Andersen impactor. Bacterial and fungal aerosol concentrations and size distributions were calculated and isolated microorganisms were taxonomically identified based on their morphological, biochemical, and molecular features. Results: in both treatment rooms and atmospheric (outdoor) air, the acceptable microbial pollution levels were periodically exceeded. The size distribution analyzes revealed that in the case of bacteria – emission from the patients and in the case of fungi – transport with atmospheric (outdoor) air were the major processes responsible for microbiological contamination of indoor premises. The majority of microbial particulates were present in the air of studied premises as single bacterial vegetative cells, spores and fungal conidia or (most commonly) formed small microbial or microbial-dust aggregates. This phenomenon may have a significant effect on patients’ actual exposure (especially on those treated for respiratory diseases) in terms of the dose of inhaled particles. Conclusions the microbiological quality of the air in sanatoriums and health resorts is a key factor for their therapeutic and prophylactic functions. When microbial pollution crossed the acceptable level, the measures that enable reducing undesirable contamination should be introduced, especially if large groups of patients undergo such therapy.

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“…Natural caves are significantly utilised for the treatment of children suffering from asthma [34,[47][48][49][50][51], an inflammatory disease diagnosed in up to 8-10% of children in the Czech Republic [52], according to medical reports. The set of renowned healing facilities comprises, above all, the Eden health center in the town of Zlaté Hory (the Jesenik Mountains) and the children's resort in the municipality of Ostrov u Macochy (the Moravian Karst); our experimental measurement cycle using the proposed methodology was conducted at the latter of these locations [52].…”

Section: Respiratory Therapy In Císařská Cave (The Moravian Karst Moravia the Czech Republic)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the Parameters of a Systematic Long-Term Measurement of the Concentration and Mobility of Air Ions in the Environment inside Císařská Cave

et al. 2021

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Determining the concentration and mobility of light air ions is an indispensable task to ensure the successful performance and progress of various operations within multiple fields and branches of human activity. This article discusses a novel methodology for measuring air ions in an environment with high relative humidity, such as that of a cave. Compared to common techniques, the proposed method exhibits a lower standard deviation and analyses the causes of spurious oscillations in the measured patterns obtained from FEM-based numerical simulations on the one hand and a model with concentrated parameters on the other. The designed ion meter utilises a gerdien tube to facilitate long-term measurement in cold and very humid spaces, an operation that can be very problematic if executed with other devices. Importantly, the applied procedure for calculating the mobility spectra of air ions from the acquired saturation characteristics is insensitive to fluctuations and noises in the measured patterns, and it also enables us to confirm the presence of very mobile air ions generated by fragmenting water droplets. During the sensing cycles, the concentration of light negative ions was influenced by the active gerdien tube. For the investigated cave, we had designed a measuring sequence to cover not only the time dependence of the concentration of light negative ions but also their mobility; this approach then allowed monitoring the corresponding impact of the patients’ presence in the cave, an effect neither described nor resolved thus far. Such comprehensive research, especially due to its specific character, has not been frequently conducted or widely discussed in the literature; the efforts characterised herein have therefore expanded the relevant knowledge and methodology, thus contributing towards further advancement in the field.

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Rare occurrence of airborne bioparticles in a speleotherapy site: the case study of the Sant’Aloisio disused siderite mine (Brescia, Italy)

Cited by 6 publications

References 10 publications

Origin, distribution, and perspective health benefits of particulate matter in the air of underground salt mine: a case study from Bochnia, Poland

Origin, distribution, and perspective health benefits of particulate matter in the air of underground salt mine: a case study from Bochnia, Poland

Size distribution of microbial aerosols in overground and subterranean treatment chambers at health resorts

Evaluating the Parameters of a Systematic Long-Term Measurement of the Concentration and Mobility of Air Ions in the Environment inside Císařská Cave

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