Indoor air microbiological evaluation of offices, hospitals, industries, and shopping centers.

Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz

Centro de Produção, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, 20550-013 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.

Published: July 2005

AI Article Synopsis

  • - The study compared the performance of two air samplers, MAS-100 and Andersen, and found similar trends in their results while assessing microbial contamination levels in various environments in Rio de Janeiro from 1998 to 2002.
  • - A high percentage (94.3% to 99.4%) of the 3060 samples from offices, hospitals, industries, and shopping centers were within the allowed microbial limit in Brazil (750 CFU/m3), with industries showing low contamination and offices and hospitals averaging around 200-300 CFU/m3.
  • - An analysis of environmental factors like temperature and humidity indicated that these had no significant effect on the dispersion patterns of airborne microorganisms, as the indoor air sample distributions were

Article Abstract

In this study it was compared the MAS-100 and the Andersen air samplers' performances and a similar trend in both instruments was observed. It was also evaluated the microbial contamination levels in 3060 samples of offices, hospitals, industries, and shopping centers, in the period of 1998 to 2002, in Rio de Janeiro city. Considering each environment, 94.3 to 99.4% of the samples were the allowed limit in Brazil (750 CFU/m3). The industries' results showed more important similarity among fungi and total heterotrophs distributions, with the majority of the results between zero and 100 CFU/m3. The offices' results showed dispersion around 300 CFU/m3. The hospitals' results presented the same trend, with an average of 200 CFU/m3. Shopping centers' environments showed an average of 300 CFU/m3 for fungi, but presented a larger dispersion pattern for the total heterotrophs, with the highest average (1000 CFU/m3). It was also investigated the correlation of the sampling period with the number of airborne microorganisms and with the environmental parameters (temperature and air humidity) through the principal components analysis. All indoor air samples distributions were very similar. The temperature and air humidity had no significant influence on the samples dispersion patterns.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s0074-02762005000400003DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

indoor air
8
offices hospitals
8
hospitals industries
8
industries shopping
8
shopping centers
8
total heterotrophs
8
300 cfu/m3
8
temperature air
8
air humidity
8
cfu/m3
6

Similar Publications

Estimation of neighborhood scale PM impacts in rural towns in the Purepecha region of Mexico.

Environ Sci Atmos

December 2024

Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) Morelia Michoacán 58190 Mexico.

The impact of cooking with solid fuels on neighborhood-scale PM concentrations in rural towns and communities is poorly quantified due to the lack of credible ground-level monitoring sites and spatial heterogeneity at a scale that is below the resolution of remote sensing GEOS-Chem hybrid models. Emissions of PM from use of open fires for cooking in rural Mexico are known to cause poor indoor air quality. The effectiveness of different intervention strategies to reduce such pollution exposures also varies because of different local building densities and source intensities.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Extracellular Vesicles Are Prevalent and Effective Carriers of Environmental Allergens in Indoor Dust.

Environ Sci Technol

December 2024

Xiamen Key Laboratory of Indoor Air and Health, Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.

The global incidence of allergic diseases is rising and poses a substantial threat to human health. Allergenic proteins released by various allergenic species play a critical role in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases and have been widely detected in the environmental matrix. However, the release, presence and interaction of environmental allergens with human body remain to be elucidated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Revealing the key role of interfacial oxygen activation over CoMnO@MnO in the catalytic oxidation of acetone.

J Hazard Mater

December 2024

Tianjin Key Lab of Indoor Air Environmental Quality Control, School of Environmental Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China; State Key Laboratory of Engines, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China. Electronic address:

The accumulation of intermediate products on the catalyst surface caused by insufficient oxygen activity is an important reason for the poor activity of catalysts towards oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs). CoMnO@MnO heterogeneous catalysts were fabricated to decipher the interfacial oxygen activation mechanism for efficient acetone oxidation. Experimental and theoretical explorations revealed that oxygen vacancies were easily formed at the interface.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a common birth defect. Our previous studies suggest that indoor air pollution, especially total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), may increase fetal CHD risk, whereas vitamin and folic acid (FA) supplements in early pregnancy might offer protection against CHD. However, limited research has explored whether FA or multivitamin supplementation can mitigate the effects of TVOCs exposure on CHD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Impact of solid fuel use on asthma prognosis and consistent peak expiratory flow changes: Evidence from China.

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf

December 2024

State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, National Center for Respiratory Medicine, Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, PR China; Guangzhou National Lab, Guangzhou, PR China. Electronic address:

Background: Exposure to solid fuels might result in substantial indoor air contamination that can detrimentally affect respiratory wellness. Yet the connection between use of such fuels and the incidence as well as the progression of asthma needs further clarification. This investigation endeavors to conduct an integrative cross-sectional and longitudinal study to examined the link between solid fuel utilization and asthma.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!