INTRODUCTION Biological particles deposit on air handling system filters as they process air. This study reports and interprets abundance and diversity information regarding biomass accumulation on ordinarily used filters acquired from several locations in a university environment. METHODS DNA-based analysis was applied both to quantify (via DNA fluorometry and qPCR) and to characterize (via ...

After the nuclear reactor accident of Chernobyl, the "Integrated Measurement and Information System (IMIS) for Monitoring the Environmental Radioactivity and Detecting Emissions from Nuclear Plants was implemented in Germany. IMIS is a nationwide comprehensive measuring system which permanently monitors the radioactivity in all important environment media in the whole federal territory. At appr...

Particulate matter accumulated on car engine air-filters (CAFs) was examined in order to investigate the potential use of these devices as efficient samplers for collecting street level air that people are exposed to. The morphology, microstructure, and chemical composition of a variety of particles were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX). The par...

Occupational exposure to toluene diisocyanate (TDI) is a known occupational hazard and the occupational exposure limits in air are very low. One of the most common methods to monitor exposure to isocyanates is to sample air through filters impregnated with 1-(2-methoxyphenyl) piperazine (2MP). In one earlier field study it was found that long-term sampling with 2MP-filters underestimated the ex...

A microbiological hood was designed to reduce the danger of airborne infection of laboratory workers. The hood uses absolute filters to deliver sterile air in a laminar flow to the work area. An air curtain across the hood opening permits easy access but separates the worker from aerosols produced in the hood, and protects material inside the hood from contamination by room air. Tests with bact...

UNLABELLED Nitrogen dioxide (NO2 ), a by-product of combustion produced by indoor gas appliances such as cooking stoves, is associated with respiratory symptoms in those with obstructive airways disease. We conducted a three-armed randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of interventions aimed at reducing indoor NO2 concentrations in homes with unvented gas stoves: (i) replacement of existing ...

We fabricated depth-type hierarchical CNT/quartz fiber (QF) filters through in situ growth of CNTs upon quartz fiber (QF) filters using a floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The filter specific area of the CNT/QF filters is more than 12 times higher than that of the pristine QF filters. As a result, the penetration of sub-micron aerosols for CNT/QF filters is reduced by tw...