Extraction and Quantification of Viable Fungal Particles from HVAC Filters as Indicators of Relative Airborne Levels in Building Air

Details

• Personal Author:
  Perez H ; Zimmerman N
• Description:
  While it is known that airborne fungi and their spores are associated with hay fever, asthma, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a universally accepted method to accurately detect and quantify this contamination is lacking. The purpose of this research was to develop a method of evaluating building HVAC filters for viable fungal contamination levels. This evaluation was performed through (1) the loading HVAC filters with known concentrations of fungal spores, (2) the extraction and quantification of these previously loaded fungal spores, and (3) the comparison of the estimated number of spores loaded with the estimated number of spores recovered. A ventilation test chamber consisting of a length of 2' x 2' square ducting was used to load the filters evaluated in this research. Filters were loaded with a fungal spore aerosol generated through the use of respiratory therapy nebulizers. The nebulizers were filled with an Aspergillus niger spore suspension. The concentration of viable spores in the suspension was determined through serial dilution. The quantification method used to determine the fungal load on the filters involved the removal of small samples from the filter, the immersion of these samples in sterile saline, the shaking of the filter/saline combinations, and the subsequent plating of aliquots of the shaking solution onto potato dextrose agar. The results of this research indicate that the generation of fungal spore aerosols of known concentrations through the use of respiratory therapy nebulizers may become a very useful method in bioaerosol research. The results also indicate that viable fungal particle recovery and quantification from HVAC filters is possible and may become a useful method for the evaluation and comparison of building areas served by separate HVAC systems. This method may also be a useful tool for the evaluation of a single building or building area before and after remediation efforts. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Monitoring Fungi Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Aerosol Particles Airborne Particles Air Conditioning Equipment Air Sampling Heating Systems IAQ Indoor Air Quality
• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; Indiana ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  33
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054769
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 8-13, 2004, Atlanta, Georgia. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2004 May; :33
• Email:
  thogan@tjhinc.com
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Performing Organization:
  Purdue University, School of Health Sciences, West Lafayette, Indiana
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010701
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 8-13, 2004, Atlanta, Georgia
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0186768aa57e7963afbd5663ca3278a4a3dd4abd95a746cc33d01288e35e1665aaf1151ab1cf78ff99b4b4c2d26307bcfdb657e4f86ba999a4a59652720eb21f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217204/cdc_217204_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 407.45 KB ]