Effectiveness and Eco-Costs of Air Cleaners in Terms of Improving Fungal Air Pollution in Dwellings Located in Southern Poland—A Preliminary Study

Ewa Brągoszewska,Krzysztof Pikoń,Magdalena Bogacka

doi:10.3390/atmos11111255

Ewa Brągoszewska, Krzysztof Pikoń + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11111255

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Journal: Atmosphere	Publication Date: Nov 21, 2020
Citations: 3	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Silesian University of Technology

Abstract

Epidemiological evidence shows that air pollution is responsible for several million premature deaths per year. By virtue of being responsible for these deaths, economic evidence shows that air pollution also imposes a so-called economic cost to society of several trillion dollars per year. The diseases caused by biological air pollutants are of primary global concern for both social and economic reasons, and given that people may spend more than 90% of their time in enclosed spaces, the investigation into methods to remove indoor air pollutants is of paramount importance. One of the methods to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) is to use air cleaners (ACLs) with high-efficiency particulate air filters (HEPA) that remove biological indoor air pollutants from indoor environments. This work presents the results of a study of fungal aerosol samples collected during the summer season from inside two dwellings (DG1 and DG2) before and after starting the use of ACLs. The fungal aerosol samples collected from each of the six stages of the sampler were incubated on agar plates at 26 °C, and the colony forming units (CFU) were manually counted and statistically corrected. The concentration of living airborne fungi was expressed as the CFU in the volume of air (CFU·m−3). The average concentration of fungal aerosol decreased the most when the ACLs were active for 24 min. The reduction was from 474 CFU·m−3 to 306 CFU·m−3, and from 582 CFU·m−3 to 338 CFU·m−3 in DG1 and DG2, respectively. The use of ACLs was assessed by the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. This study highlights the benefits of controlling biological air pollutants in order to keep occupants of buildings happy and healthy.

Highlights

With the ongoing improvements in quality of life, indoor air quality (IAQ) has become an area of concern for researchers in the last few decades [1]
The use of air cleaners (ACLs) was assessed by the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology
As public awareness of air pollution increases, high-efficiency particulate air filters (HEPA) filters in ACLs are becoming widely used in Poland by the growing middle class

Summary

Introduction

With the ongoing improvements in quality of life, indoor air quality (IAQ) has become an area of concern for researchers in the last few decades [1]. A growing number of studies have focused on the assessment of exposure to biological air pollutants in indoor spaces with respect to the various negative effects on human health [7,8]. The particles of fungal aerosols may be transported into buildings on the surface of new materials or on clothing [14,15,16,17]. They may penetrate buildings through active or passive ventilation [18,19]. As public awareness of air pollution increases, HEPA filters in ACLs are becoming widely used in Poland by the growing middle class. We calculated the ecological cost of air purification using the life cycle assessment (LCA) technique

Sampling Sites

Methods

Statistical

LCA Methodology

Discussion

The Size Distribution of Fungal Aerosol and the Effectiveness of ACLs

LCA—The Ecological Cost of Emission Reduction