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Bioaerosol Exposure during Sorting of Municipal Solid, Commercial and Industrial Waste: Concentration Levels, Size Distribution, and Biodiversity of Airborne Fungal
Duquenne, P.; Simon, X.; Coulais, C.; Koehler, V.; Degois, J.; Facon, B. Bioaerosol Exposure during Sorting of Municipal Solid, Commercial and Industrial Waste: Concentration Levels, Size Distribution, and Biodiversity of Airborne Fungal. Atmosphere2024, 15, 461.
Duquenne, P.; Simon, X.; Coulais, C.; Koehler, V.; Degois, J.; Facon, B. Bioaerosol Exposure during Sorting of Municipal Solid, Commercial and Industrial Waste: Concentration Levels, Size Distribution, and Biodiversity of Airborne Fungal. Atmosphere 2024, 15, 461.
Duquenne, P.; Simon, X.; Coulais, C.; Koehler, V.; Degois, J.; Facon, B. Bioaerosol Exposure during Sorting of Municipal Solid, Commercial and Industrial Waste: Concentration Levels, Size Distribution, and Biodiversity of Airborne Fungal. Atmosphere2024, 15, 461.
Duquenne, P.; Simon, X.; Coulais, C.; Koehler, V.; Degois, J.; Facon, B. Bioaerosol Exposure during Sorting of Municipal Solid, Commercial and Industrial Waste: Concentration Levels, Size Distribution, and Biodiversity of Airborne Fungal. Atmosphere 2024, 15, 461.
Abstract
A study was carried out in a Waste Sorting Plant (WSP) located in France and treating dry recyclable household waste (DRHW) as well as dry recyclable commercial and industrial waste (DRCIW). The aim was to investigate the exposure to bioaerosol and dust. The aim of the study was to assess the extent to which the measurement of concentration, species composition and particle size distribution can contribute to a better assessment of the biological risks associated with exposure. Both stationary and personal bioaerosol and dust samples were collect in the (WSP). The results confirm that waste and waste sorting activities are sources of airborne fungi. Indeed, ambient concentrations ranged from 7.3×103 to 8.5×105 CFU/m3 for culturable moulds and up to up to 4 mg/m3 for dust. Personal exposure to inhalable dust was found up to 3 mg/m3 for dust and ranged from 8.6×103 to 1.5×106 CFU/m3 for fungi. Airborne fungal communities were found to be dominated by the Penicillium genera in both bioaerosols and settled dust samples, followed by the Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Wallemia, Mucor, and Rhizopus genera. Fungi were carried by particles of aerodynamic diameters mainly between around 2.0 and 10.0 µm. The findings dealing with size distribution and biodiversity of bioaerosols suggest that employees are exposed to complex bioaerosols during their work and helps to make a finer diagnosis of the risks involved, which is often difficult in the absence of any OEL for bioaerosols in general.
Public Health and Healthcare, Public, Environmental and Occupational Health
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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