Comparison of Indoor Air Sampling and Dust Collection Methods for Fungal Exposure Assessment Using Quantitative PCR

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cox J ; Indugula R ; Jandarov R ; Reponen T ; Vesper S ; Zhu Z
• Description:
  Evaluating fungal contamination indoors is complicated because of the many different sampling methods utilized. In this study, fungal contamination was evaluated using five sampling methods and four matrices for results. The five sampling methods were a 48 hour indoor air sample collected with a Button(TM) inhalable aerosol sampler and four types of dust samples: a vacuumed floor dust sample, newly settled dust collected for four weeks onto two types of electrostatic dust cloths (EDCs) in trays, and a wipe sample of dust from above floor surfaces. The samples were obtained in the bedrooms of asthmatic children (n = 14). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to analyze the dust and air samples for the 36 fungal species that make up the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI). The results from the samples were compared by four matrices: total concentration of fungal cells, concentration of fungal species associated with indoor environments, concentration of fungal species associated with outdoor environments, and ERMI values (or ERMI-like values for air samples). The ERMI values for the dust samples and the ERMI-like values for the 48 hour air samples were not significantly different. The total cell concentrations of the 36 species obtained with the four dust collection methods correlated significantly (r = 0.64-0.79, p < 0.05), with the exception of the vacuumed floor dust and newly settled dust. In addition, fungal cell concentrations of indoor associated species correlated well between all four dust sampling methods (r = 0.68-0.86, p < 0.01). No correlation was found between the fungal concentrations in the air and dust samples primarily because of differences in concentrations of Cladosporium cladosporioides Type 1 and Epicoccum nigrum. A representative type of dust sample and a 48 hour air sample might both provide useful information about fungal exposures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Air Pollution, Indoor Dust Environmental Monitoring Environmental Pollution Enzymes Fungi Microbiology Occupational Health Polymers Safety

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• Keywords:
  Air Sampling Deoxyribonucleic Acids DNA Dust Collection Dust Sampling Electrostatic Filters Environmental Contamination Enzyme Activity Exposure Assessment IEQ Indoor Environmental Quality Indoor Environments Microorganisms Molds Molecular Biology Nucleic Acids Quantitative Analysis Sampling Sampling Methods Vacuum Equipment

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• ISSN:
  2050-7887
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  19
• Issue:
  10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050468
• Citation:
  Environ Sci Process Impacts 2017 Oct; 19(10):1312-1319
• Contact Point Address:
  Tiina Reponen, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, P.O. Box 670056, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056, USA
• Email:
  reponeta@ucmail.uc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  University of Cincinnati
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4a00e796d2d7c8874e598ccb1c1a58a794093d2ff674beea9312162f91dca7d0a2cb3c5ae89390e1baaa12b3c0a0cc13fe8b022ec590132b57de7c8b2d75ea3a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210794/cdc_210794_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 444.41 KB ]