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A field comparison of four bioaerosol samplers for enumerating airborne fungi Lee, Kit Shan
Abstract
Introduction: No standard method exists for enumerating fungal aerosols, impeding the development of reliable exposure-response data. A field comparison of four bioaerosol samplers, the Reuter Centrifugal Sampler (RCS), the Andersen N6 Single Stage (N6), the Surface Air System Super 90, and the Air-o-Cell sampler (AOC), was conducted in a variety of public buildings for the measurement of fungal aerosols to compare sampling performance efficiencies and to collect baseline data for a pool of buildings Methods: Sampling was conducted at 75 sites in public buildings from June-October 2001 in the greater Vancouver area, British Columbia. Four locations were sampled at each site (1 common area, 2 offices, and 1 outdoor sample). Each location was sampled in parallel, collecting approximately 150 litres of air for each sample. Malt extract agar was used for all growth media. Sequential duplicates were taken at each location. Fixedand mixed-effects regression models were constructed to examine the relationships between each method pair and to develop between-sampler calibration equations. Samplers were also scored and ranked on a combination of performance and other sampler characteristics. A survey of a panel of academics and consultants that regularly used bioaerosol sampling equipment for fungal aerosols was conducted to guide the comparison. Results: Data from approximately 592 samples (60 different buildings) were available for analysis from each instrument. Differences were found between samplers for overall yield, detection limits, and reproducibility. Fixed- and mixed-effect models indicated location of the sample to be a confounder in the relationship of all method pairs, and interaction was also found for all except the N6-RCS comparison. Six final models were suggested to serve as possible calibration curves to convert measurements made with one sampler to those made with another. Surveys from 10 professionals were available to weight the other sampler characteristics. The final ranking for this comparison had the N6 and AOC ranked highest and the SAS and RCS the lowest. Conclusions: Concentration data is dependent on the sampling methodology utilized for assessment and should be considered before conducting investigations of bioaerosols in different environments. Exposure guidelines cannot be created until a standard methodology is available.
Item Metadata
Title |
A field comparison of four bioaerosol samplers for enumerating airborne fungi
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
2002
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Description |
Introduction: No standard method exists for enumerating fungal aerosols, impeding the
development of reliable exposure-response data. A field comparison of four bioaerosol
samplers, the Reuter Centrifugal Sampler (RCS), the Andersen N6 Single Stage (N6), the
Surface Air System Super 90, and the Air-o-Cell sampler (AOC), was conducted in a
variety of public buildings for the measurement of fungal aerosols to compare sampling
performance efficiencies and to collect baseline data for a pool of buildings
Methods: Sampling was conducted at 75 sites in public buildings from June-October
2001 in the greater Vancouver area, British Columbia. Four locations were sampled at
each site (1 common area, 2 offices, and 1 outdoor sample). Each location was sampled
in parallel, collecting approximately 150 litres of air for each sample. Malt extract agar
was used for all growth media. Sequential duplicates were taken at each location. Fixedand
mixed-effects regression models were constructed to examine the relationships
between each method pair and to develop between-sampler calibration equations.
Samplers were also scored and ranked on a combination of performance and other
sampler characteristics. A survey of a panel of academics and consultants that regularly
used bioaerosol sampling equipment for fungal aerosols was conducted to guide the
comparison.
Results: Data from approximately 592 samples (60 different buildings) were available
for analysis from each instrument. Differences were found between samplers for overall
yield, detection limits, and reproducibility. Fixed- and mixed-effect models indicated
location of the sample to be a confounder in the relationship of all method pairs, and
interaction was also found for all except the N6-RCS comparison. Six final models were
suggested to serve as possible calibration curves to convert measurements made with one
sampler to those made with another. Surveys from 10 professionals were available to
weight the other sampler characteristics. The final ranking for this comparison had the
N6 and AOC ranked highest and the SAS and RCS the lowest.
Conclusions: Concentration data is dependent on the sampling methodology utilized for
assessment and should be considered before conducting investigations of bioaerosols in
different environments. Exposure guidelines cannot be created until a standard
methodology is available.
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Extent |
14649773 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-09-16
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0099691
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
2002-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.