Monitoring of Airborne Microorganisms and Environmental of Laboratory Rooms, Faculty of Science and Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin

Abstract

Airborne microorganism is one factor that must be considered and poses a high risk to the health of indoor workers. Therefore, indoor air quality measurements must be constantly monitored because if the air quality is below standard, microorganisms will not be inhibited and spread throughout the facilities.  The aims of this study were to determine the type and presence of microorganisms including measurement of the environmental conditions of six laboratories at the Faculty of Science and Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin.  The air sample contaminated by bacteria and fungi was collected using settle plate method in the morning and afternoon for three weeks. Also, the relative humidity, temperature and Illuminance were investigated.  The results showed that the Microbiology Laboratory had the highest presence of bacteria of 76.5 CFU/dm²/h and other laboratories showed a range between 1.6 – 43.0 CFU/dm²/h.  Also, the fungal presence at the Microbiology Laboratory was at the highest (28.3 CFU/dm²/h) and other laboratory had a range between 4.7-23.6 CFU/dm²/h with environmental conditions of relative humidity (37.4 – 50.2 %RH), temperature (26.6 – 28.1 °C) and Illuminance (447 – 687 Lux). Comparison with the index of microbial air contamination (IMA) has found average levels in the six rooms were fair to very good. The greatest number of bacteria was Bacillus sp. followed by Staphylococcus sp.  In addition, the types of fungi found were Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Cladosporium sp. and Curvularia sp. These microorganisms are generally present in laboratory environments. However, allergy or more negative outcomes on some patients with respiratory diseases can be prevented if contamination is at safe levels.