Fungal Fragments and Fungal Aerosol Composition in Sawmills
| Autor: | Komlavi Anani Afanou, Helle Laier Johnsen, Wijnand Eduard, Anne Straumfors |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Air microbiology
Air Microbiology 010501 environmental sciences fungal fragments 01 natural sciences 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Occupational Exposure Manufacturing Industry Humans Food science fungal aerosols Workplace Aerosolization 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Fungal exposure Aerosols Norway Chemistry compositional data analysis fungi Fungi Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Original Articles Spores Fungal 030210 environmental & occupational health field emission scanning electron microscopy Aerosol Spore Microscopy Electron Scanning Composition (visual arts) Seasons Aerosol composition submicronic fragments Environmental Monitoring |
| Zdroj: | Annals of Work Exposures and Health |
| ISSN: | 2398-7316 2398-7308 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/annweh/wxy022 |
| Popis: | Assessment of exposure to fungi has commonly been limited to fungal spore measurements that have shown associations between fungi and development or exacerbation of different airway diseases. Because large numbers of submicronic fragments can be aerosolized from fungal cultures under laboratory conditions, it has been suggested that fungal exposure is more complex and higher than that commonly revealed by spore measurements. However, the assessment of fungal fragments in complex environmental matrix remain limited due to methodological challenges. With a recently developed immunolabeling method for field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), we could assess the complex composition of fungal aerosols present in personal thoracic samples collected from two Norwegian sawmills. We found that large fungal fragments (length >1 µm) dominated the fungal aerosols indicating that the traditional monitoring approach of spores severely underestimate fungal exposure. The composition of fungal aerosols comprised in average 9% submicronic fragments, 62% large fragments, and 29% spores. The average concentrations of large and submicronic fragments (0.2–1 µm) were 3 × 105 and 0.6 × 105 particles m−3, respectively, and correlated weakly with spores (1.4 × 105 particles m−3). The levels of fragments were 2.6 times higher than the average spore concentration that was close to the proposed hazardous level of 105 spores per m3. The season influenced significantly the fungal aerosol concentrations but not the composition. Furthermore, the ratio of spores in the heterogeneous fungal aerosol composition was significantly higher in saw departments as compared to sorting of green timber departments where the fungal fragments were most prevalent. Being the dominating particles of fungal aerosols in sawmills, fungal fragments should be included in exposure-response studies to elucidate their importance for health impairments. Likewise, the use of fungal aerosol composition in such studies should be considered. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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