Abstract
The paper aims to investigate the concentrations of Pb, Cd, Cr and Ag element of as well as microbial contamination in computer keyboard within the work environment at the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Sciences (FETS) at Sebha University, Libya. The results showed that the mean elemental concentrations (mg/g) in the samples were Pb (14.2±12.9), Ag (7.49±1.44), Cr (6.09±2.88) and Cd (4.43±1.48). The most commonly found heavy metals were Pb (44.1%), followed by (Ag 23.3), (Cr 18.9), and (Cd 13.8) %. The concentrations were higher than the limits allowed by EPA 2009. The concentration of Cd also exceeded the European standards for paint in plastic toys. The concentration of Cr element exceeded the limits allowed in all samples except the IBM brand keyboard. Pb concentration has not exceeded the limit except for the GLK-2010 gaming (16.5 mg/g), IBM (15.5 mg/g), and Discovery (46.4 mg/g) keyboards. Microbiologically, 16 (65%) positive Gram: Staphylococcus lactobacillus, mycobacterium, Bacillus, Actinomyces, Micrococcus, Clostridium, Erysprlothrix, Eubacterium and (35%) Gram-negative included Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Brucella, Aeromonas, Bordetella, Acinetobacter, Bacteroides were isolated. The most polluted sites were administrative offices followed by laboratories and secretarial offices. While the highest numbers of bacteria were isolated from laboratories due to the large daily use.
Highlights
The problem of environmental pollution is the tax that mankind pays for scientific and technological progress, as well under development and mishandling of natural resources and modern technologies
This research highlights an important aspect of pollution, which is microbiology pollution and heavy metals in devices that are under multiple users, such as computers
The purpose of this paper is to investigate heavy elements as well as to investigate microbial contamination in the computer keyboard within the work environment at the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Sciences (FETS)
Summary
The problem of environmental pollution is the tax that mankind pays for scientific and technological progress, as well under development and mishandling of natural resources and modern technologies. We considered computers as a target of the present study Computers with all their components and pigments from solid waste, are increasing in quantity and can transfer toxins and hazardous contaminants such as heavy elements to human and the environment (Sabine and Wendy, 2009). In our bodies, they accumulate and cause considerable damage, as well as the environmental effects of the residues of those paint (Duffus, 2002 Okewole & Omin,2013). Substances found in oil paint such as formaldehyde and benzene, carcinogenic, contain heavy metals and are toxins for the human and ecosystem (Berihun & Solomon, 2017)
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