title: Airborne microorganisms associated with waste management and recovery: biomonitoring methodologies.
abstract: This paper presents preliminary results from a year-long indoor bioaerosol monitoring performed in three working environments of a municipal composting facility treating green and organic waste. Composting, whereby organic matter is stabilized through aerobic decomposition, requires aeration, causing the dispersion of microbial particles (microorganisms and associated toxins). Waste can, therefore, become a potential source of biological hazard. Bioaerosol samples were collected on a monthly basis. Through a comparison of results obtained using two samplers - the Surface Air System DUO SAS 360 and the BioSampler - the study aimed at assessing the presence of biological pollutants, and at contributing to the definition of standard sampling methods for bioaerosols leading, eventually, to the establishment of exposure limits for these occupational pollutants.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Ambiente e Connessa Prevenzione Primaria, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Coccia
authors.forename: Paola Margherita Bianca
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Gucci
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lacchetti
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Paradiso
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scaini
mesh_terms: D000391:Air Microbiology; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D012384:Rome; D012987:Soil; D018505:Waste Management
chemical_list: D004731:Endotoxins; D012987:Soil