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Aerosol Generations in Working Environments
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Aerosol Generations in Working Environments

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 22313

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Byung Uk Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Bioaerosol Laboratory, College of Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
Interests: bioaerosol; aerosol; infectious disease; filter; airborne transmission
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

Aerosol particles are generated at various working environments. It has been reported that nanoparticles, submicron particles, and micron particles are generated in airborne phase within working environments. These aerosol particles are important to environmental research and public health issues due to their hazardous health effects on workers, including respiratory and skin disease problems. In this Special Issue, new discoveries on aerosol generations due to working activities at various working environments will be discussed. Specific working activities will be analyzed for relations with aerosol particles. In addition, new methods for reducing aerosol concentrations will be discussed at working environments.

Prof. Byung Uk Lee
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Aerosol
  • Aerosol generation
  • Working environment
  • Nanoparticle
  • Submicron particle
  • Micron particle
  • Bioaerosol
  • Aerosol control
  • Aerosol concentration

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 5636 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of a Filtering Facepiece Respirator and a Pleated Particulate Respirator in Filtering Ultrafine Particles and Submicron Particles in Welding and Asphalt Plant Work Environments
by Aniruddha Mitra, Atin Adhikari, Clinton Martin, Gracia Dardano, Pascal Wagemaker and Caleb Adeoye
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(12), 6437; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126437 - 14 Jun 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3526
Abstract
Manufacturing sites, such as welding, casting, and asphalt production (fumes), generate vast numbers of ultrafine particles of <0.1 µm in size and submicron particles close to the ultrafine range (0.1–0.5 µm). Although cumulative masses of these particles are negligible in comparison to the [...] Read more.
Manufacturing sites, such as welding, casting, and asphalt production (fumes), generate vast numbers of ultrafine particles of <0.1 µm in size and submicron particles close to the ultrafine range (0.1–0.5 µm). Although cumulative masses of these particles are negligible in comparison to the larger particles, the health effects are more severe due to the higher penetration in the human lower respiratory tract, other body parts crossing the respiratory epithelial layers, and the larger surface area. This research investigates the effectiveness of two common commercially available N95 filtering facepieces and N95 pleated particulate respirator models against ultrafine and submicron particles. Two specific types of respirators, the N95 filtering facepiece and the N95 pleated particulate models, in both sealed and unsealed conditions to the manikin face, were tested at various commercial and academic manufacturing sites, a welding and foundry site, and an asphalt production plant. Two TSI Nanoscan SMPS nanoparticle counters were used simultaneously to collect data for particles of 10–420 nm in size from inside and outside of the respirators. While one of them represented the workplace exposure levels, the other one accounted for the exposure upon filtration through the respiratory surfaces. The results showed the particles generated by these manufacturing operations were mostly within the range of from 40 to 200 nm. Results also indicated that while the percentage of filtration levels varied based on the particle size, it remained mostly within the desired protection level of 95% for both of the N95 respirator models in sealed conditions and even for the N95 pleated particulate model in the unsealed condition. However, in the case of the N95 filtering facepiece model, unsealed respirators showed that the percentage of penetration was very high, decreasing the protection levels to 60% in some cases. Although the number of workplace airborne particle levels varied considerably, the filtration percentages were relatively consistent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aerosol Generations in Working Environments)
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21 pages, 9456 KiB  
Article
An Investigation of Airborne Bioaerosols and Endotoxins Present in Indoor Traditional Wet Markets before and after Operation in Taiwan: A Case Study
by Da-Jiun Wei, Wen-Te Liu, Huin-Tsung Chin, Ching-Hsing Lin, I-Chun Chen and Yi-Tang Chang
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(6), 2945; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18062945 - 13 Mar 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3250
Abstract
Customers in Taiwan prefer to purchase fresh foods and household supplies at indoor traditional wet markets (TWMs). The health risk to indoor TWM staff exposed to bioaerosols needs to be evaluated, since these workers spend long periods of time in the market for [...] Read more.
Customers in Taiwan prefer to purchase fresh foods and household supplies at indoor traditional wet markets (TWMs). The health risk to indoor TWM staff exposed to bioaerosols needs to be evaluated, since these workers spend long periods of time in the market for stall preparation, selling, and stall cleaning. This study investigated the bioaerosols present in two indoor TWMs. The results showed that the cleaning process at Market A after operations, involving the use of an agitated waterspout, was able to decrease the concentration of bacterial bioaerosols (BBs) by an average of 64%, while at the same time increasing the concentration of fungal bioaerosols (FBs) by about 2.4 fold. The chemical sanitization process at Market B after operations was able to bring about average decreases of 30.8% in BBs and 19.2% in FBs, but the endotoxin concentration increased. Hotspots were found to be associated with vendors of fresh, live poultry and fresh, raw meat/seafood. Pseudomonas spp. and Clostridiumperfringens, both of which can be pathogenic, were found to be the dominant species present in these markets, making up 35.18% to 48.74% and 9.64% to 11.72% of the bacteria present, respectively. Our results provide fundamental information on the distributions of bioaerosols and endotoxins within indoor TWMs both before and after operation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aerosol Generations in Working Environments)
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Review

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8 pages, 763 KiB  
Review
Minimum Sizes of Respiratory Particles Carrying SARS-CoV-2 and the Possibility of Aerosol Generation
by Byung Uk Lee
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(19), 6960; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17196960 - 23 Sep 2020
Cited by 78 | Viewed by 10882 | Correction
Abstract
This study calculates and elucidates the minimum size of respiratory particles that are potential carriers of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); furthermore, it evaluates the aerosol generation potential of SARS-CoV-2. The calculations are based on experimental results and theoretical models. [...] Read more.
This study calculates and elucidates the minimum size of respiratory particles that are potential carriers of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); furthermore, it evaluates the aerosol generation potential of SARS-CoV-2. The calculations are based on experimental results and theoretical models. In the case of maximum viral-loading derived from experimental data of COVID-19 patients, 8.97 × 10−5% of a respiratory fluid particle from a COVID-19 patient is occupied by SARS-CoV-2. Hence, the minimum size of a respiratory particle that can contain SARS-CoV-2 is calculated to be approximately 9.3 μm. The minimum size of the particles can decrease due to the evaporation of water on the particle surfaces. There are limitations to this analysis: (a) assumption that the viruses are homogeneously distributed in respiratory fluid particles and (b) considering a gene copy as a single virion in unit conversions. However, the study shows that high viral loads can decrease the minimum size of respiratory particles containing SARS-CoV-2, thereby increasing the probability of aerosol generation of the viruses. The aerosol generation theory created in this study for COVID-19 has the potential to be applied to other contagious diseases that are caused by respiratory infectious microorganisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aerosol Generations in Working Environments)
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Other

Jump to: Research, Review

2 pages, 247 KiB  
Correction
Correction: Lee, B.U. Minimum Sizes of Respiratory Particles Carrying SARS-CoV-2 and the Possibility of Aerosol Generation. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 6960
by Byung Uk Lee
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(22), 11738; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182211738 - 9 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1426
Abstract
The author would like to update a few calculation results in the Abstract and Section 4 “Calculation of Sizes of Respiratory Particles Containing SARS-CoV-2” in the previous publication [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aerosol Generations in Working Environments)
9 pages, 1627 KiB  
Technical Note
Cryogenic Aerosol Generation: Airborne Mist Particles Surrounding Liquid Nitrogen
by Byung Uk Lee
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(3), 1071; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17031071 - 7 Feb 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2473
Abstract
Aerosol mist particles generated near the surface of a liquid nitrogen container were measured and analyzed. The particles present at various distances from the boiling surface of liquid nitrogen were detected using an optical particle counter. In this experiment, 3 micrometer particles exhibited [...] Read more.
Aerosol mist particles generated near the surface of a liquid nitrogen container were measured and analyzed. The particles present at various distances from the boiling surface of liquid nitrogen were detected using an optical particle counter. In this experiment, 3 micrometer particles exhibited a more than 100-fold increase in concentration due to the liquid nitrogen surface. However, 0.3 micrometer and 10 micrometer particles showed smaller variations (2% to 79%) in their concentrations in the vicinity of liquid nitrogen. The distance from the boiling surface of the liquid nitrogen strongly affected the variations in particle concentration. The variations in aerosol concentrations were significant within 20 cm of the liquid nitrogen surface. These results can be considered as a useful quantitative environmental guideline in cryogenic studies that use liquid nitrogen, and this concept can be applied to cryogenic aerosol mist generation mechanisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aerosol Generations in Working Environments)
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