Graduation Year
2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.S.P.H.
Degree Name
MS in Public Health (M.S.P.H.)
Degree Granting Department
Public Health
Major Professor
Rene' Salazar, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Steven Mlynarek, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Thomas Bernard, Ph.D.
Keywords
exposure, fungal exposure, fungal sampling methodology, occupational exposure, occupational health, Spore trap sampling
Abstract
No current federal or state standards for mold exposure exist, partly due to the lack of accurate methods for assessing fungal exposure. Exposure to airborne fungal spores can result in several symptoms such as allergic rhinitis, coughing, and fatigue. Non-industrial occupational settings are common and fungal exposures may occur in these environments. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the meaningfulness of fungal spore trap results from samples collected in both a corporate office and a university classroom. Air-O-Cell cassettes with a Zefon Bio-Pump were used to collect one outdoor and three indoor samples at each location on three separate days. The indoor samples were collected consecutively. All samples were submitted to an American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)-accredited laboratory for analyses, and total spore counts were compared across locations, sampling dates, and sampling times. Most numerous and most common genera for each location were also compared. The results of this study indicate that spore trap sampling using Air-O-Cell cassettes do not produce highly variable results; rather, results were fairly consistent across locations, dates, times, and most common genera. This is contrary to the literature, which indicates spore trap sampling produces highly variable results. Only one sampling date was significantly different from the others. Future studies that employ other fungal air sampling methods, such as viable air sampling, are recommended to allow for further comparisons and determination of the influence of longer sampling times and lower flow rates.
Scholar Commons Citation
Haworth, Christina M., "Variability of Air Sampling Results Using Air-O-Cell Cassettes" (2023). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/9975
