[Erratum to the article "The usefulness of an optical monitor for the assessment of human exposure to fine dust in indoor air" (MED PR. 2019;70(2):213-20)]. / Errata do artykulu "Przydatnosc optycznego miernika do oceny narazenia ludzi na drobny pyl zawarty w powietrzu pomieszczen" (MED. PR. 2019;70(2):213­220).

The original version of the article can be found at: https://doi.org/10.13075/mp.5893.00780.

The Study of the Sterilization of the Indoor Air in Hospital/Clinic Rooms by Using the Electron Wind Generator.

(1) Background: Since exposure to airborne bacteria and fungi may be especially hazardous in hospitals and outpatient clinics, it is essential to sterilize the air in such rooms. The purpose of this study was to estimate the decrease in the concentration of airborne bacteria and fungi in the selected hospital and clinic rooms due to the work of the electron wind generator (EWG). (2) Methods: EWG is an air movement and air purification device using a sophisticated combination of electrode topology and specially designed high-voltage power supply. (3) Results: The concentration of both bacteria and fungi in the small patient's room dropped to approximately 25% of the initial (background) concentration. In the larger patient's room, the concentration dropped to 50% and 80% of the background concentration for bacteria and fungi, respectively. (4) Conclusions: The obtained data show that the studied sterilization process can be described by the exponential function of time. Moreover, the application of an activated carbon filter into EWG significantly decreases the concentration of ozone in the sterilized room. Sterilization by EWG significantly changes the characteristic of species and genera of airborne bacteria and shifts the main peak of the size distribution of airborne bacteria into the coarser bio-particles.

[The usefulness of an optical monitor for the assessment of human exposure to fine dust in indoor air]. / Przydatnosc optycznego miernika do oceny narazenia ludzi na drobny pyl zawarty w powietrzu pomieszczen.

BACKGROUND: An important issue in the assessment of health risks related to air pollution with fine dust is the measurement of individual exposure. Such possibilities are provided by relatively easy to use optical monitors. The aim of the presented work was to assess the possibility of using the AM520 optical monitor to measure individual human exposure to PM2.5 and PM10 indoors by determining the calibration factor and assessing the compliance of the measurement with the reference method. MATERIAL AND METHODS: As part of the research, indoor concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 and were measured (3 locations in the Gliwice Poviat, March-May 2017) with the use of the SidePak Personal Aerosol Monitor AM520, as well as the reference LVS3D device by means of the gravimetric method. The value of the calibration coefficient for the optical monitor was determined, and the consistency of measurements performed with both methods was assessed. RESULTS: The photometric calibration factor ranged 0.33-0.40 and was concurrent with the 0.38 value recommended by the manufacturer. The determination coefficient for the correlation between the measurement results obtained with the optical and gravimetric methods was very high (R2 = 0.91). CONCLUSIONS: The presented results are promising and allow for the conclusion that the AM520 optical monitor can be used to assess individual exposure to PM2.5 and PM10 indoors. Med Pr. 2019;70(2):213-20.

Submicron particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Polish teaching rooms: Concentrations, origin and health hazard.

The goal of the work was to investigate the concentrations of the 16 US EPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) bound to submicrometer particles (particulate matter, PM1) suspended in the air of university teaching rooms and in the atmospheric air outside. Two teaching rooms were selected in two Polish cities, Gliwice, southern Poland, and Warsaw, central Poland, differing with regard to the ambient concentrations and major sources of PM and PAH. The variabilities of indoor and outdoor 24-hr concentrations of PM1-bound PAH, the ratio (I/O) of the indoor to outdoor 24-hr concentrations of PM1-bound PAH, probable sources of PAH and the level of the hazard from the mixture of the 16 PAH (ΣPAH) to humans at both sites were analyzed. In both Warsaw and Gliwice, the mean concentrations of PM1-bound ΣPAH were slightly higher in the atmospheric air than in the rooms. The indoor and outdoor concentrations of individual PAH in Gliwice were correlated, in Warsaw - they were not. Most probably, the lack of the correlations in Warsaw was due to the existence of an unidentified indoor source of gaseous PAH enriching PM1 in phenanthrene, fluorene, and pyrene. Although the ambient concentrations of PM1-bound PAH were low compared to the ones observed earlier at both sites, they were much higher than in other urbanized European areas. However, because of low mass share of heavy PAH in ΣPAH, the various indicators of the health hazard from the 16 PAH mixture were low compared to other regions.