• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.115-125
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• 2000

Three major hospitals with over 500 beds located in and near Seoul were surveyed for airbone microorganisms from February 1, 1998 to February 18, 1998. The purpose of the study was to identify and quantify microbiological organisms circulating in the air of three different areas in the hospitals. For the study, a RCS air sampler was utilized equipped with two different collection media, the agar strip GK-A for bacteria and the agar strip HS for fungi. The areas investigated were the intensive care unit (ICU) in the Department of internal medicine, the Newborns room in the Department of Obstetrics, and the microbiology laboratory. The results were as follows; 1. The average numbers of general microbiological particles collected on the agar strip GK-A media were $205CFU/m^3$, $232CFU/m^3$, and $128CFU/m^3$ in each hospitals. The highest concentration of $387CFU/m^3$ was found in the ICU of A hospital at 15:00 during the day. Further analysis of the collected bioaerosols by gram staining, revealed that there were gram positive cocci (89.5%), gram positive bacilli (7.2%), gram negative bacilli (2.8%), and fungi (0.5%), in descending order of frequency. 2. Ten different genes were identified from the agar strip GK-A. The most frequently identified organisms were: the Coagulase negative staphylococcus (55.0%), Micrococcus (21.4%), Enterococcus species(10.4%), and Bacillus species (7.2%). A series of antibiotics susceptibility test were conducted against the aforementioned four(4) organisms. Ninety percent of coagulase negative stapylococcus were sensitive to Penicillins. Pathogenic microbes isolated include: Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter species, Klebsiella pneumonia, Klebsiella oxytoca, and Pseudomonas aeroginosa. 3 Although 56.8% of the microorganisms grown on the strip HS media for fungi could not be identified, some of them were successfully identified. The most frequently found fungi were Aspergillus (35.3%), Yeast or Molds (6.2%), and Penicillium (0.7%). Based on the results obtained from the study, it was concluded that some areas in the hospitals had abnormally high bioaerosol concentrations which could be attributed to human activity. Therefore, it is recommended that periodic assessments of indoor bioaerosols aiming to identify the possible sources should be conducted in order to maintain clean indoor environment in the hospitals.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.324-332
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• 2017

Objectives: Much scientific evidence indicate a positive association between moldy environments and respiratory illnesses and/or symptoms. However, few comprehensive assessments of mold have been performed for such settings. Spore counts or microscopic enumeration only may not be sufficient for evaluating fungal exposure. Recently, Mold Specific QPCR technology developed by the US EPA (Environmental Relative Moldiness Index, ERMI) has been widely used worldwide and great performance for assessing fungal exposure has been shown. Methods: We aimed to develop a Korean version of ERMI suitable for the distribution of fungal flora in Korea. Thirty dwellings in the Seoul and Incheon area were selected for sampling, and each was classified as 'Flooded, 'Water-damaged' or 'Non-water-damaged'. Results: Dust on the floor and airborne sampling were collected using an MAS100 and a 'Dustream' collector. Samples were analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction(QPCR) for the 36 molds belonging to ERMI. Student t-test and ANOVA tests were carried out using SAS software. The median ERMI values of flooded, water damaged, and non-water damaged dwellings were 8.24(range: -5.6 to 27.9), 5.47(-25. 4 to 32.7), and -15.30(-24.6 to 14.8), respectively. Significant differences were observed between flooded and non-water damaged dwellings (P=0.001) and between water-damaged and non-water damaged dwellings (P=0.032). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that ERMI values attributed to dust samples in Korea could be applicable for the identification of flooded or water damaged buildings. However, much data is needed for continuously developing the Korean version of ERMI values.

• Journal of Urban Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 2021

The number of old buildings older than 30 years in Korea continues to increase from 29.9% in 2005 to 38.8% in 2020. Considering the growing urban regeneration projects, urban maintenance projects, the suppression of urban expansion, and the lack of idle land in the city, the dismantling of old buildings is expected to increase further in the future. As major accidents at building dismantling sites continue to occur, related agencies are also strengthening safety management of building dismantling works. While physical safety management such as collapse and fall is strengthened, there is a relative lack of interest in the health of workers at dismantling sites due to environmental hazards. Since relevant laws stipulate that construction waste should be separated and discharged, old buildings need to be considered for environmental hazards such as fine dust, floating bacteria, and floating molds when dismantling. In this study, we intend to find important safety management elements in the management of building dismantling sites, measure environmental factors harmful to dismantling workers, and present basic data for the management of dismantling sites in the future. "Safety management" was the highest priority, followed by "dust," "vibration," "noise," "bacteria," and "smell." The perception of the importance of "physical damage prevention" with workers working on dismantling and managers managing the site came out similar, but the perception of "work efficiency" and "health disorder prevention" through environmental hazard management showed different priorities. In the process of dismantling, floating bacteria and floating mold were collected, cultured, and measured the concentration in the indoor air. The measurement was measured by dividing it into pre-dismantling and during dismantling.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.1002-1011
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• 2020

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the composition and diversity of the fungal flora at various control points in cheese ripening rooms of 10 dairy farms from six different provinces in the Republic of Korea. Methods: Floor, wall, cheese board, room air, cheese rind and core were sampled from cheese ripening rooms of ten different dairy farms. The molds were enumerated using YM petrifilm, while isolation was done on yeast extract glucose chloramphenicol agar plates. Morphologically distinct isolates were identified using sequencing of internal transcribed spacer region. Results: The fungal counts in 8 out of 10 dairy farms were out of acceptable range, as per hazard analysis critical control point regulation. A total of 986 fungal isolates identified and assigned to the phyla Ascomycota (14 genera) and Basidiomycota (3 genera). Of these Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Cladosporium were the most diverse and predominant. The cheese ripening rooms was overrepresented in 9 farms by Penicillium (76%), while Aspergillus in a single farm. Among 39 species, the prominent members were Penicillium commune, P. oxalicum, P. echinulatum, and Aspergillus versicolor. Most of the mold species detected on surfaces were the same found in the indoor air of cheese ripening rooms. Conclusion: The environment of cheese ripening rooms persuades a favourable niche for mold growth. The fungal diversity in the dairy farms were greatly influenced by several factors (exterior atmosphere, working personnel etc.,) and their proportion varied from one to another. Proper management of hygienic and production practices and air filtration system would be effective to eradicate contamination in cheese processing industries.