IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v14y2017i1p99-d88400.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Microbiological Contamination at Workplaces in a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Station Processing Plant Biomass

Author

Listed:
  • Justyna Szulc

    (Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology, Lodz University of Technology, Łódź 90-924, Poland)

  • Anna Otlewska

    (Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology, Lodz University of Technology, Łódź 90-924, Poland)

  • Małgorzata Okrasa

    (Department of Personal Protective Equipment, Central Institute for Labour Protection, National Research Institute, Łódź 90-133, Poland)

  • Katarzyna Majchrzycka

    (Department of Personal Protective Equipment, Central Institute for Labour Protection, National Research Institute, Łódź 90-133, Poland)

  • Michael Sulyok

    (Center for Analytical Chemistry, Department of Agrobiotechnology (IFA-Tulln), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Str. 20, Tulln, Vienna (BOKU) 3430, Austria)

  • Beata Gutarowska

    (Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology, Lodz University of Technology, Łódź 90-924, Poland)

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the microbial contamination at a plant biomass processing thermal power station (CHP). We found 2.42 × 10 3 CFU/m 3 of bacteria and 1.37 × 10 4 CFU/m 3 of fungi in the air; 2.30 × 10 7 CFU/g of bacteria and 4.46 × 10 5 CFU/g of fungi in the biomass; and 1.61 × 10 2 CFU/cm 2 bacteria and 2.39 × 10 1 CFU/cm 2 fungi in filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs). Using culture methods, we found 8 genera of mesophilic bacteria and 7 of fungi in the air; 10 genera each of bacteria and fungi in the biomass; and 2 and 5, respectively, on the FFRs. Metagenomic analysis (Illumina MiSeq) revealed the presence of 46 bacterial and 5 fungal genera on the FFRs, including potential pathogens Candida tropicalis , Escherichia coli , Prevotella sp., Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp.). The ability of microorganisms to create a biofilm on the FFRs was confirmed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We also identified secondary metabolites in the biomass and FFRs, including fumigaclavines, quinocitrinines, sterigmatocistin, and 3-nitropropionic acid, which may be toxic to humans. Due to the presence of potential pathogens and mycotoxins, the level of microbiological contamination at workplaces in CHPs should be monitored.

Suggested Citation

  • Justyna Szulc & Anna Otlewska & Małgorzata Okrasa & Katarzyna Majchrzycka & Michael Sulyok & Beata Gutarowska, 2017. "Microbiological Contamination at Workplaces in a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Station Processing Plant Biomass," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:1:p:99-:d:88400
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/1/99/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/1/99/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Annette C. Rohr & Sharan L. Campleman & Christopher M. Long & Michael K. Peterson & Susan Weatherstone & Will Quick & Ari Lewis, 2015. "Potential Occupational Exposures and Health Risks Associated with Biomass-Based Power Generation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-64, July.
    2. Katarzyna Majchrzycka & Małgorzata Okrasa & Justyna Skóra & Beata Gutarowska, 2016. "Evaluation of the Survivability of Microorganisms Deposited on Filtering Respiratory Protective Devices under Varying Conditions of Humidity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, January.
    3. Montserrat Alonso-Sardón & Antonio-J Chamorro & Ignacio Hernández-García & Helena Iglesias-de-Sena & Helena Martín-Rodero & Cristian Herrera & Miguel Marcos & José Antonio Mirón-Canelo, 2015. "Association between Occupational Exposure to Wood Dust and Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(7), pages 1-16, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Beata Gutarowska & Justyna Szulc & Adriana Nowak & Anna Otlewska & Małgorzata Okrasa & Anita Jachowicz & Katarzyna Majchrzycka, 2018. "Dust at Various Workplaces—Microbiological and Toxicological Threats," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-19, April.
    2. Katarzyna Majchrzycka & Małgorzata Okrasa & Justyna Szulc & Anita Jachowicz & Beata Gutarowska, 2019. "Survival of Microorganisms on Nonwovens Used for the Construction of Filtering Facepiece Respirators," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-11, March.
    3. Anita Jachowicz & Katarzyna Majchrzycka & Justyna Szulc & Małgorzata Okrasa & Beata Gutarowska, 2019. "Survival of Microorganisms on Filtering Respiratory Protective Devices Used at Agricultural Facilities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-19, August.
    4. Alessandra Cincinelli & Tania Martellini, 2017. "Indoor Air Quality and Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-5, October.
    5. Katarzyna Majchrzycka & Małgorzata Okrasa & Anita Jachowicz & Justyna Szulc & Beata Gutarowska, 2018. "Microbial Growth on Dust-Loaded Filtering Materials Used for the Protection of Respiratory Tract as a Factor Affecting Filtration Efficiency," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-18, September.
    6. Justyna Szulc & Małgorzata Okrasa & Adriana Nowak & Joanna Nizioł & Tomasz Ruman & Sławomir Kuberski, 2022. "Assessment of Physicochemical, Microbiological and Toxicological Hazards at an Illegal Landfill in Central Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-31, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carla Viegas & Bianca Gomes & Filipe Oliveira & Marta Dias & Renata Cervantes & Pedro Pena & Anita Quintal Gomes & Liliana Aranha Caetano & Elisabete Carolino & Ednilton Tavares de Andrade & Susana Vi, 2022. "Microbial Contamination in the Coffee Industry: An Occupational Menace besides a Food Safety Concern?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-18, October.
    2. Małgorzata Okrasa & Jörn Hitz & Aleksandra Nowak & Agnieszka Brochocka & Christoph Thelen & Zbigniew Walczak, 2019. "Adsorption Performance of Activated-Carbon-Loaded Nonwoven Filters Used in Filtering Facepiece Respirators," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Cassandra L. Thiel & Pallavi Sreedhar & Genevieve S. Silva & Hannah C. Greene & Meenakshi Seetharaman & Meghan Durr & Timothy Roberts & Rajesh Vedanthan & Paul H. Lee & Gizely Andrade & Omar El-Shahaw, 2023. "Conservation Practices for Personal Protective Equipment: A Systematic Review with Focus on Lower-Income Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-23, January.
    4. Katarzyna Majchrzycka & Małgorzata Okrasa & Justyna Szulc & Anita Jachowicz & Beata Gutarowska, 2019. "Survival of Microorganisms on Nonwovens Used for the Construction of Filtering Facepiece Respirators," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-11, March.
    5. Anita Jachowicz & Katarzyna Majchrzycka & Justyna Szulc & Małgorzata Okrasa & Beata Gutarowska, 2019. "Survival of Microorganisms on Filtering Respiratory Protective Devices Used at Agricultural Facilities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-19, August.
    6. Katarzyna Majchrzycka & Małgorzata Okrasa & Anita Jachowicz & Justyna Szulc & Beata Gutarowska, 2018. "Microbial Growth on Dust-Loaded Filtering Materials Used for the Protection of Respiratory Tract as a Factor Affecting Filtration Efficiency," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-18, September.
    7. Rayan Nikkilä & Suvi Tolonen & Tuula Salo & Timo Carpén & Eero Pukkala & Antti Mäkitie, 2023. "Occupational Etiology of Oropharyngeal Cancer: A Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(21), pages 1-13, November.
    8. Yan Li & Hua Yu & Siqian Zheng & Yang Miao & Shi Yin & Peng Li & Ying Bian, 2016. "Direct Quantification of Rare Earth Elements Concentrations in Urine of Workers Manufacturing Cerium, Lanthanum Oxide Ultrafine and Nanoparticles by a Developed and Validated ICP-MS," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-10, March.
    9. Ivana Tureková & Eva Mračková & Iveta Marková, 2019. "Determination of Waste Industrial Dust Safety Characteristics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-11, June.
    10. Sang Bin Jeong & Ki Joon Heo & Byung Uk Lee, 2019. "Antimicrobial Air Filters Using Natural Sea Salt Particles for Deactivating Airborne Bacterial Particles," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-10, December.
    11. Alice Freiberg & Julia Scharfe & Vanise C. Murta & Andreas Seidler, 2018. "The Use of Biomass for Electricity Generation: A Scoping Review of Health Effects on Humans in Residential and Occupational Settings," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-27, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:1:p:99-:d:88400. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.