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

Abstract

Bioaerosol monitoring is a rapidly emerging area in the context of work environments because microbial pollution is a key element of indoor air pollution and plays an important role in certain infectious diseases and allergies. However, as yet, relatively little is known about inhaled doses of microorganisms in workplaces. Today, the important issue of social concern is due to waste management, transport, sorting, and processing of wastes and their environmental impact and effects on public health. In fact, waste management activities can have numerous adverse effects on human wellbeing. Health effects are generally linked to exposure (EX), defined as the concentration of a contaminant and the length of time a person is exposed to this concentration. Dose is an effective tool for evaluating the quantity of a contaminant that actually crosses the body’s boundaries and influences the goal tissue. This document presents an analysis of the fungal waste-sorting plant EX dose (FWSPED) inhaled by workers in a waste-sorting plant (WSP) in Poland in March 2019. The main purpose of this research was to assess FWSPED inhaled by workers in two cabins at the WSP: the preliminary manual sorting cabin (PSP) and the purification manual sorting cabin (quality control; QSP). It was found that the FWSPED inhaled by workers was 193 CFU/kg in the PSP and 185 CFU/kg in the QSP. Fungal particles were quantitatively evaluated and qualitatively identified by the GEN III Biolog system. During the research, it was found that isolates belonging to the Aspergilus flavus and Penicillum chrysogenum strains were detected most frequently in the WSP. The total elimination of many anthropogenic sources is not possible, but the important findings of this research can be used to develop realistic management policies and methods to improve the biological air quality of WSPs for effective protection of WSP workers.

Environmental Factors and Ventilation Affect Concentrations of Microorganisms in Hospital Wards of Southern Thailand

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Fungal Contaminants in Energy Efficient Dwellings: Impact of Ventilation Type and Level of Urbanization

“…Fungal growth on indoor surfaces has been associated with health problems in dwelling occupants [ 15 ] through the aerosolisation of fungal particles [ 16 ]. Indeed, spores, hyphal fragments and microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs) can be emitted from mouldy surfaces [ 17 ] and the size of these particles is small enough to be inhaled [ 16 , 18 , 19 ]. A chronic exposure to moulds can induce a hypersensitivity in healthy adults [ 20 ], as well as respiratory problems such as asthma in young children [ 21 , 22 , 23 ], adults [ 24 ] and older adults [ 25 ].…”

Health Risks Associated with Occupational Exposure to Biological Air Pollutants Occurring during the Processing of Biomass for Energy Purposes: A Case Study

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