Contamination with microscopic fungi measured by the concentration of ergosterol in dusts of various types of wood with different granulation

Abstract

Contamination with microscopic fungi measured by the concentration of ergosterol in dusts of various types of wood with different granulation. Dusts are a mixture of compounds generated both in the anthropogenic and natural environment and they are a by-product of combustion and abrasion or crushing of solid materials. Dust generated in wood industry plants as a result of mechanical wood processing is particularly dangerous. Wood dusts - both dispersed in the air inside a production plant and deposited - also contain the work environment's so-called biological agents. This term refers to microorganisms and the structures and substances produced by these organisms, which have an adverse effect on the human organism and may cause numerous diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the level of contamination with microscopic fungi of dusts from various types of wood depending on the granulation. The method of analysis of the chemical ergosterol marker was used here, the concentration of which is correlated with the number of mycoscopic fungi. On the basis of the study, it was found that dusts with finer granulation from deciduous wood are characterized by a higher concentration of ERG, i.e. a higher level of contamination with microscopic fungi. It is important information from the point of view of health and safety at work.