The National Research Centre for the Working Environment Lersø Parkallé 105, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.
The National Research Centre for the Working Environment Lersø Parkallé 105, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.
Waste Manag. 2022 Feb 15;139:250-257. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2021.12.031. Epub 2021 Dec 31.
Electrostatic dust cloths have previously been used to study microorganisms in settled dust by placing the cloths horizontally on surfaces (called Electrostatic Dust Collectors, EDC). In this study, we investigate whether the same cloths, henceforth called 'E-Cloths', can be used to study accumulation of microorganisms and endotoxin on workers' clothes. This was studied as current methods have limitations. It was examined for waste collection workers, as their work environment is associated with elevated exposure to microorganisms and endotoxin. Each worker received a kit with a T-shirt with an attached E-Cloth on the front, a instruction letter, and a questionnaire. Workers wore the T-shirts during the next two workdays. Unaffected by waste type collected, it was possible to measure the accumulation of bacteria, fungi, and endotoxin from the work environment on the E-Cloths. Geometric mean concentration of 9 × 10 CFU bacteria/m, 1 × 10 CFU fungi/m, and 4 × 10 endotoxin units/m were found. In total, 100 different bacterial and 25 fungal species were found. The genus Bacillus (with 18 species) and Brevibacterium aurantiacum were among the dominating bacteria. For fungi, Penicillium brevicompactum, P. commune, Penicillium italicum, and Aspergillus niger were most often found. Importantly, mainly environmental bacteria and fungi had accumulated on the E-Cloths and only few skin-related bacterial species were present, showing that accumulation had happened from the work exposure and not workers' skin. In conclusion, the T-shirts with an E-Cloth can be used as a self-administered method for measurement of accumulation of microorganisms and endotoxin from the work environment on waste collection workers' clothes.
静电除尘布以前曾被用于通过将布水平放置在表面上来研究沉降灰尘中的微生物（称为静电集尘器，EDC）。在这项研究中，我们研究了相同的布（此后称为“E 布”）是否可用于研究微生物和内毒素在工人衣物上的积累。之所以进行这项研究，是因为当前的方法存在局限性。研究对象为废物收集工人，因为他们的工作环境与微生物和内毒素的暴露水平升高有关。每位工人都收到了一个套件，其中包括一件正面附有 E 布的 T 恤、一封说明信和一份问卷。工人在下两个工作日穿着 T 恤。不受收集废物类型的影响，可以从 E 布上测量工作环境中细菌、真菌和内毒素的积累。发现细菌、真菌和内毒素的几何平均浓度分别为 9×10 CFU 细菌/m、1×10 CFU 真菌/m 和 4×10 内毒素单位/m。总共发现了 100 种不同的细菌和 25 种真菌。芽孢杆菌属（有 18 个种）和黄色短杆菌是主要细菌。对于真菌，最常发现的是青霉短小单胞菌、普通青霉、意大利青霉和黑曲霉。重要的是，E 布上主要积累了环境细菌和真菌，只有少数与皮肤有关的细菌种类存在，表明积累是从工作暴露中发生的，而不是工人的皮肤。总之，带有 E 布的 T 恤可以用作自我管理的方法，用于测量废物收集工人衣物上来自工作环境的微生物和内毒素的积累。
