Correlations of Particles, Allergens, Fungi and Bacteria in Air and Chair Dust in a Hospital Setting

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cox-Ganser, Jean M. ; Rao, Carol Y.
• Description:
  An environmental survey was conducted in two hospital buildings, one of which had a history of water incursion on the top floors and a cluster of work-related asthma. Sampling focused on air measurements for ultrafine particles (1< um), culturable fungi, culturable bacteria, fungal spores, endotoxin and latex allergen. Chair dust was analyzed for culturable fungi, culturable bacteria, endotoxin, mouse urinary protein, and latex, cat, dust mite, and cockroach allergens. In general, air concentrations were higher and chair concentrations were lower in the health complaint building. The air measurements for total fungal spores, total culturable fungi, ultrafine particles, and airborne endotoxin were significantly correlated with each other. Endotoxin concentration in chair dust was significantly correlated with total culturable fungi. No significant correlations were found between air and chair measurements. Our data suggest that exposure ranges both within and between buildings require consideration when investigating associations between health effects and environmental measures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Dust Endotoxins Environmental Exposure Environmental Health Environmental Pollution Fungi Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Hypersensitivity Microbiology Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Water Purification

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• Keywords:
  Airborne-dusts Airborne-fibers Airborne-particles Allergens Environmental-exposure Environmental-factors Environmental-hazards Health-care-facilities Health-care-personnel Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Microorganisms Nanotechnology Particulate-dust Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders Water-analysis

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• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  365-370
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20023406
• Citation:
  Indoor Air 2002 Jun; :365-370
• Email:
  crao@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• NORA Priority Area:
  Work Environment and Workforce: Indoor Environment
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Indoor Air 2002, Proceedings: 9th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, Montery, California, June30-July 5, 2002
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:88d7492d56a79239f54d8e08ce2798dca0eec6630c51a0c6018ef99ba9929b6863c9d2db407575dfa526fc6090775e2b67081dd21a377acd5de03488d4cf75ac
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/195853/cdc_195853_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 284.90 KB ]