Factors related to quantity of airborne fungi and bacteria and health impacts among workers of recycle shops in Tha Khlong Municipality, Pathum Thani Province

Abstract

The cross-sectional descriptive study was aimed to assess the quantity of airborne fungi and bacteria in recycle shops, compare the quantity of airborne fungi and bacteria between inside and outside of recycle shops, compare the quantity of airborne fungi and bacteria between six recycle shops included in the study, study the relationship among air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, the number of workers and the quantity of airborne fungi and bacteria, and determine health impacts on the workers. The samples included 6 recycle shops
located in Tha Khlong Municipality, Pathum Thani Province, 37 workers of these recycle shops, and 144 air samples collected from the recycle shops. The participants’data were collected using questionnaires. Bioaerosol sampling was performed according to the NIOSH Method 0800. Statistical tools used for data analysis included independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient. The results showed that the quantity of airborne fungi and bacteria ranged from 367.75 to 509.10 cfu/m3 and 355.97 to 747.28 cfu/m3, respectively. It was also found that 33.33% of the recycle shops had registered the quantity of airborne fungi and bacteria exceeding the recommended standard of WHO and ACGIH (<500 cfu/m3). Additionally, 33.33% and 16.67% of recycle shops had more indoor quantity of airborne fungi and bacteria than outdoor quantity of the same with statistical significance (p-value<0.05). The recycle shop number 2 registered higher quantity of airborne bacteria higher than the rest of participating recycle shops with statistical significance (p-value<0.05). Wind speeds were negatively related to the quantity of airborne fungi (r=-0.56, p-value<0.001) and bacteria (r=-0.75, p-value<0.01), with statistical significance. Air
temperature was moderately negatively related to the quantity of airborne bacteria (r=-0.44, p-value<0.05) with statistical significance. Operators of the recycle shops where the quantity of airborne fungi or bacteria exceeded the recommended standard (500 cfu/m3) had 2 and 1.5 times of skin and gastrointestinal symptoms, respectively, higher than who work in the recycle shops with quantity of airborne fungi or bacteria not
exceeding the standard limit. Therefore, operators of the recycle shops should provide the efficient ventilation in their work environment and encourage the workers to wear personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face masks, long-sleeved shirts, long pants, gloves, and boots to prevent exposure to microorganisms in a work environment.