The World of KTP and Bioaerosols

How does a Bioaerosol Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) work, and what does it bring to Albion Environmental?

We currently have two KTP Associates on our team who are delivering very different projects. Jennifer Kowalski is delivering a Bioaerosol Monitoring project in conjunction with The Open University and Albion Environmental. As a company, we believe in the power of the KTP program, however it occurred to us that some of you may not know what the program is and how it can bring new innovations to your business. We have asked Jennifer to write this article to explain \’The World of KTP and Bioaerosols\’.

I am currently the Associate for a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between The Open University (a knowledge base) and Albion Environmental Ltd. The fundamental aim of this KTP is to pass on the ability to conduct bioaerosol monitoring to a company (Albion Environmental), by learning from industry experts working at the university. This will help increase UK-wide capacity for this type of work, thereby helping relevant industrial sites ensure that their monitoring can be adequately and promptly completed in-line with any permit or license requirements.

I began my KTP with a background in Biology and environmental data analysis, which provided me with the necessary skills for this role, including: field work experience, extensive data-handling capabilities, stakeholder management, and a background knowledge of waste management. However, I knew very little about bioaerosol monitoring – a very niche aspect of environmental monitoring. Initially, this made my KTP role exciting but challenging, as I developed an expertise in bioaerosol monitoring.

What is Bioaerosol Monitoring?

Bioaerosols are suspensions of airborne particles that contain living organisms (such as bacteria or viruses), or the non-living parts released from them (such as pollen or endotoxins). They can be pushed into the air whenever anything which contains these microorganisms is moved around (for instance, organic waste contains many micro-organisms as they break down this waste, and so bioaerosols are released during organic waste treatment).

Bioaerosols can be harmful to human health, and so it is important that people are not exposed to dangerous concentrations of bioaerosols. Monitoring bioaerosols is the practice of determining what the concentration of bioaerosols is on a given day at a particular site, or for a particular group of people. Once bioaerosol concentrations have been measured, the consultant who conducted the monitoring work can advise on what exactly the concentrations mean and what action must be taken, if relevant.

What does my day-to-day work look like?

As previously mentioned, a major part of my role is passing on the ability to conduct bioaerosol monitoring from a knowledge base to an environmental consultancy. So, an important part of my work is the ability to use different learning methods (such as online research, site shadowing, and training courses) to amass information on bioaerosols and how to correctly monitor them. Thus far, I’ve used my own learning experiences to create a wide range of training resources, from written guides and instructions to online lessons and in-person demonstrations. This has enabled me to pass on bioaerosol monitoring skills to staff at Albion Environmental, so that they can also conduct this work.

Whilst monitoring bioaerosols (mostly on large-scale waste treatment sites), I have been collecting the results to form an extensive and varied Excel database. By searching for patterns within the data, and finding clear ways of presenting it visually, this data will help provide key information on bioaerosol concentrations at different types of organic waste treatment facilities. This will hopefully bring about some new and important findings that will be beneficial to the waste industry, making it a very fulfilling part of my day-to-day tasks.

Another key aspect of my work has been marketing. Over the course of my KTP, I’ve given talks at conferences and during a webinar, and I’ve also written various blogs and other social media posts, in order to disseminate crucial information on bioaerosols. This informs those who work within the waste management industry of bioaerosols, specifically how bioaerosols could be directly impacting them and their work. The marketing materials I’ve created also pinpoint the type of solutions that waste treatment facilities or workers may need to solve their bioaerosol issues, to ensure that adequate action is being taking to protect people from this risk.

Other daily tasks that I complete for my KTP involve project management – for example, generating and providing KTP, InnovateUK and the other partners with regular updates on how the project is progressing; managing and reviewing the various budgets afforded to the project; and making informed decisions on how best to meet the project’s objectives. Due to COVID-19, much of my work had to be re-arranged and adapted, but fortunately I was given much assistance in doing this.

When I am not doing any of this, I am probably participating in meetings or events organised by Albion Environmental, and assisting with other non-bioaerosol related work that they do. The team at Albion have been very helpful in expanding my knowledge and capabilities regarding the vital services that they provide for the waste management sector – whilst also being a very friendly and easy-to-work with bunch!

The overall objective of the KTP role is to equip the staff at Albion with the skills and knowledge required to conduct bioaerosol monitoring projects for their clients and ultimately expand service offerings to include various bioaerosol services. We have been working on some client projects recently, so keep a look out for our first Bioaerosol Case Study coming soon!

To make any enquiries on bioaerosol monitoring you can contact me at:

jennifer@albion-environmental.co.uk

If you are interested in bioaerosol monitoring or other aspects of environmental monitoring, you can see our services here.

Environmental Monitoring