title: Concentrations and diversity of microbes from four local bioaerosol emission sources in Finland.
abstract: Microbial particles can readily be released into the air from different types of man-made sources such as waste operations. Microbiological emissions from different biological sources and their dispersion may be an issue of concern for area planning and for nearby residents. This study was designed to determine the concentrations and diversity of microbiological emissions from four different man-made source environments: waste center with composting windrows, sewage treatment plant, farming environment, and cattle manure spreading. Samples of airborne particles were collected onto polyvinyl chloride filters at three distances along the prevailing downwind direction, from each source environment during a period of approximately 1 week. These samples were analyzed for 13 species or assay groups of fungi, bacterial genus Streptomyces, and Gram-positive and -negative bacteria using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Samples for determining the concentrations of viable fungi and bacteria were collected from all environments using a six-stage impactor. The results show that there were variations in the microbial diversity between the source environments. Specifically, composting was a major source for the fungal genera Aspergillus and Penicillium, particularly for Aspergillus fumigatus, and for the bacterial genus Streptomyces. Although the microbial concentrations in the sewage treatment plant area were significantly higher than those at 50 or 200 m distance from the plant area, in the farming environment or cattle manure spreading area, no significant difference was observed between different distances from the source. In summary, elevated concentrations of microbes that differ from background can only be detected within a few hundred meters from the source. This finding, reported earlier for culturable bacteria and fungi, could thus be confirmed using molecular methods that cover both culturable and nonculturable microbial material.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland. pasi.kaarakainen@thl.fi
authors.forename: Pasi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kaarakainen
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rintala
authors.forename: Teija
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Meklin
authors.forename: Päivi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kärkkäinen
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hyvärinen
authors.forename: Aino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nevalainen
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000391:Air Microbiology; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000818:Animals; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002417:Cattle; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005387:Finland; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D012037:Refuse Disposal; D013302:Streptomyces / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants