Transfer and reaerosolization of biological contaminant following field technician servicing of an aerosol sampler.

Abstract

Over the last several years, aerosol samplers have been fielded in many locations to collect biological agents in the air, providing a sample that, once analyzed, will alert safety and public health officials of potential bioterrorism events. If a biological agent was present at the sampling location, the collector and surrounding area may be contaminated due to bioaerosol deposition, possibly posing a hazard to the technician maintaining the aerosol sampler. The technician may, in turn, serve as a source for cross-contamination to clean areas subsequently visited, potentially producing a hazard to others if transferred to indoor settings, such as a job site or analysis laboratory. To investigate our hypothesis about these potential exposure sources and cross-contamination, a study was performed to: (1) examine biological material transfer from a contaminated site to an individual; and (2) determine aerosol resuspension levels due to typical personnel activity at a contaminated, paved bioaerosol sampling site. Analysis of air samples indicated reaerosolization of spore-containing particles upon disturbance of a contaminated site by a field technician, and analysis of swatches taken from the technician’s clothing indicated substantial transfer of spores. These results provide insight into sources of cross-contamination and potential steps to mitigate consequences of infectious contaminant transfer, and also demonstrate potential exposure hazards for technicians servicing fielded bioaerosol collectors.