Background
Bioaerosols consist of living and non-living biological particles which have become airborne. Thus, they can be inhaled into the human body, where they have the potential to harm health. To manage this risk, many waste treatment facilities handling organic matter must, at least, consider the risks of bioaerosols.
In this case, the client wanted to conduct occupational bioaerosol monitoring, to gain a sense of the bioaerosol concentrations that their staff are exposed to. The aim of this was to ensure that their staff are not going to be experiencing long-term health impacts due to potentially high levels of bioaerosols.
The Brief
We were employed to monitor the bioaerosol concentrations from the site on an operational day by setting up bioaerosol samplers around areas of the site where staff were working. This is termed static occupational monitoring, and it gives a general overview of the exposure levels associated with various areas or tasks on a site.
Implementation
Albion conducted static occupational monitoring by preparing sample filters and installing them into pumps, which we set up around the site. We selected the sampling points by speaking to staff members on site and asking them questions about where they expect they may have high bioaerosols, whilst providing our own input based on our prior knowledge of this. Then, the pumps were run for set times, collecting bioaerosols which would later be measured at a laboratory.
We receive the raw data from the lab, analysed the data and provide a brief descriptive report. This report was then finalised and approved by Toni Gladding, Professor of Environmental Health at OU – a leader in her field who has decades of experience in bioaerosol monitoring.
We also provided recommendations for how the site may act to reduce bioaerosol exposure and health risks, and what their next steps could be.
Outcome
The results of this monitoring were shared with our client as well as recommendations tailored to this site, and the areas where bioaerosol concentrations were highest.
This work was carried out alongside a dust sampling visit which allowed us to provide a comprehensive assessment of the air quality on this site.