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The threshold and/or reference limit values for some microbiological agents (e.g. bacteria, fungi or endotoxins), if recognized and accepted by the international scientific community, could be a useful tool in the interpretation of the measurement results and, as a result, in protecting the health of the exposed individuals. Nowadays, on the worldwide scale, there are no widely accepted threshold limit values for microbiological aerosols. If they are proposed, they should be treated as facultative standards or auxiliary reference values.
Recommended Threshold Limit Values for Microorganisms and Endotoxins in Indoor Air Proposed by the Expert Group for Biological Agents (Górny, 2022)
|
Microbiological agent |
Admissible concentration |
|
|
Workplaces contaminated with organic dust |
Residential and public utility premises |
|
|
Mesophilic bacteria |
1,0×105 CFU/m3 * |
5,0×103 CFU/m3 |
|
Gram-negative bacteria |
2,0×104 CFU/m3 * |
2,0×102 CFU/m3 |
|
Thermophilic actinomycetes |
2,0×104 CFU/m3 * |
2,0×102 CFU/m3 |
|
Fungi |
5,0×104 CFU/m3 * |
5,0×103 CFU/m3 |
|
Agents from risk groups 3 and 4 |
0 CFU/m3 |
0 CFU/m3 |
|
Bacterial endotoxins |
200 ng/m3 (2000 JE/m3) |
5 ng/m3 (50 JE/m3) |
|
Microbial agents |
Level of microbial contamination of outdoor air
|
|
|
Acceptable |
Unacceptable |
|
|
Bacteria (total number)
|
≤5,0×103 CFU/m3 |
>5,0×103 CFU/m3 |
|
Gram-negative bacteria
|
≤2,0×102 CFU/m3 |
>2,0×102 CFU/m3 |
|
Thermophilic actinomycetes
|
≤2,0×102 CFU/m3 |
>2,0×102 CFU/m3 |
|
Fungi
|
≤5,0×103 CFU/m3 |
>5,0×103 CFU/m3 |
|
Agents from risk groups 3 and 4
|
0 CFU/m3 |
0 CFU/m3 |
|
Bacterial endotoxins
|
≤50 EU/m3 |
>50 EU/m3 |
| CFU – colony-forming unit; EU – endotoxin unit | ||
| * for the respirable fraction the proposed values should be lowered by a half and be as follows: 5,0×104 CFU/m3 for mesophilic bacteria; 1,0×104 CFU/m3 Gram-negative bacteria; 1,0×104 CFU/m3 for thermophilic actinomycetes; 2,5×104 CFU/m3 for fungi | ||
Propozycje oceny stopnia zanieczyszczenia mikrobiologicznego powietrza atmosferycznego (Górny, 2010).
|
Microbial agents |
Level of microbial contamination of outdoor air
|
|
|
Acceptable |
Unacceptable |
|
|
Bacteria (total number)
|
≤5,0×103 CFU/m3 |
>5,0×103 CFU/m3 |
|
Gram-negative bacteria
|
≤2,0×102 CFU/m3 |
>2,0×102 CFU/m3 |
|
Thermophilic actinomycetes
|
≤2,0×102 CFU/m3 |
>2,0×102 CFU/m3 |
|
Fungi
|
≤5,0×103 CFU/m3 |
>5,0×103 CFU/m3 |
|
Agents from risk groups 3 and 4
|
0 CFU/m3 |
0 CFU/m3 |
|
Bacterial endotoxins
|
≤50 EU/m3 |
>50 EU/m3 |
| CFU – colony-forming unit; EU – endotoxin unit | ||
Hygienic standards for the air in ventilation and HVAC installations (Cellai G., 1997).
|
Microorganisms |
Concentration (CFU/m3) |
Assessment |
|
Fungi |
pathogenic |
unacceptable occurrence regardless of concentration |
|
>50 CFU/m3 |
unacceptable if only one fungal genus is present |
|
|
≤150 CFU/m3 |
acceptable when more than one fungal genus is present |
|
|
≤300 CFU/m3 |
acceptable if the main fungal genera are Cladosporium lub Philloplane |
|
|
Bacteria |
pathogenic |
unacceptable occurrence |
|
<50 CFU/m3 |
very low concentration |
|
|
51-100 CFU/m3 |
low concentration |
|
|
101-500 CFU/m3 |
average concentration |
|
|
501-2000 CFU/m3 |
high concentration |
|
|
>2000 CFU/m3 |
very high concentration |
|
| CFU – colony-forming unit | ||
Mycological Surface Cleanliness Levels (Kemp i Neumeister-Kemp, 2010).
|
Concentration of culturable fungal conidia on the surface [CFU/cm2] |
Hygienic assessment |
|
<0,5 |
Low contamination |
|
0,5 – 1 |
Normal contamination |
|
1 – 2,5 |
Increased contamination |
|
>2,5 |
Contaminated surface |
|
>12,5 |
Extreme contamination |
Proposals for permissible concentrations of microorganisms and endotoxin in air and on surfaces in archives, museums, museum warehouses and conservation workshops (Górny, 2022).
|
Microbiological agent |
Permissible concentration |
|
|
Archives, museums, museum warehouses and conservation workshops |
||
|
Concentration limit, acceptable from the workers' health point of view |
Concentration limit signalling the existence of an internal source of microbiological contamination, dangerous from the point of view of the collection's state of preservation |
|
|
Bacteria (total number) |
5,0×103 CFU/m3 * |
- |
|
Fungi (total number) |
5,0×103 CFU/m3 * |
- |
|
Bioaerosols (bacteria and fungi counted together) |
- |
1,5×102 CFU/m3 |
|
Agents from risk groups 3 and 4 |
0 CFU/m3 |
0 CFU/m3 |
| CFU – colony-forming unit | ||
- Górny RL. Harmful biological agents. In: Pośniak M, Skowroń J, editors. Harmful agents in the working environment–admissible values 2022. Warsaw: Central Institute for Labour Protection–National Research Institute; 2022. p. 161–173 (in Polish).
- Cellai G. (1997) La protettazione delle condotte dell’aria ai fini della manutenzione. Documenti e riferimenti normativi in relazione all’IAQ. Seconda parte. AICRR, 8:789-795
- Górny RL (2010): Aerozole biologiczne – rola normatywów higienicznych w ochronie środowiska i zdrowia. Med. Środ. 13: 41-51.
- Kemp P, Neumeister-Kemp H. (2010): Australian mould guideline. Osborne Park, Australia: The Enviro. Trust.