1.
INTRODUCTION a.
General Bioaerosol monitoring is a rapidly emerging area of industrial hygiene. Bioaerosol monitoring includes the measurement of viable (culturable and nonculturable) and nonviable microorganisms in both indoor (e.g., industrial, office or residential) and outdoor (e.g., agricultural and general air quality) environments. In general, indoor bioaerosol sampling need not be performed if visible growth is observed. Monitoring for bioaerosols in the occupational environment is one of the many tools the industrial hygienist uses in the assessment of indoor environmental quality, infectious disease outbreaks, agricultural health, and clean rooms. Contamination (microbial growth on floors, walls, or ceilings, or in the HVAC system) should be remedied. If personnel remain symptomatic after remediation, air sampling may be appropriate, but the industrial hygienist should keep in mind that false negative results are quite possible and should be interpreted with caution. Other exceptions for which bioaerosol sampling may be appropriate include epidemiological investigations, research studies, or if situations indicated by an occupational physician and/or immunologist.
Sampling for fungi and bacteria (including Actinomycetes) is included in this chapter. Less developed methods for bioaerosols such as viruses, protozoa, antigenic fragments, algae, arthropods, and mycoplasmas are not addressed at this time. b.
Indoor and Outdoor Bioaerosols In general, indoor microflora concentrations of a healthy work environment are lower than outdoor concentrations at the same location [ACGIH 1989, Step two; Macher et al. 1995]. If one or more genera are found indoors, in concentrations greater than outdoor concentrations, then the source of amplification must be found and remedied. Bioaerosol sampling is often performed out of doors for pollen and fungi to assist allergists in their treatment of patients by identifying taxa distribution and concentration in air over time. On occasion, outdoor bioaerosol sampling is conducted in an occupational environment (e.g., agricultural investigations and sewage treatment plants). Indoor bioaerosol sampling is often conducted in occupational (industrial and office environments) and nonoccupational (residential and educational buildings) settings. When sampling is indicated, it is advisable to sample before, during, and after the sampling area is occupied, including times when the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system is activated and inactivated.
c.
Viable and Nonviable Bioaerosols Viable microorganisms are metabolically active (living) organisms with the potential to reproduce. Viable microorganisms may be defined in two subgroups: culturable and nonculturable. Culturable organisms reproduce under controlled conditions. Information regarding environmental conditions and media to culture microorganisms is shown in Sections 3.a. and 3.c. Nonculturable organisms do not reproduce in the laboratory because of intracellular stress or because the conditions (e.g., culture medium or incubation temperature) are not conducive to growth. As the name implies, viable bioaerosol sampling involves
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NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods
