, _. ~:l ", , B - ... • C g ::Ii • ~. ' . . ;G,:: . _', _ ' -,tI ;.'I_-," ~ .." :0::.. .. - ~. ".l - -' U ~ .... w IJ B~ . -~'"'' . ~'~'" ~.' ,. .~ No r t h ~So u I h Ue I ... AmOSPIlERIC MICROBIAL AEROSOLS Bruce Lighthart U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Corvallis, OR A. J. Mohr U.S. Army, Dugway Proving Ground Dugway, UT o SPIIE RIC CROBIAL AEROSOLS Theory and Applications Edited hy BRUCE LIG T AlAN JEFF MOHR ~ CHAPMAN & HALL New York· London First published in 1994 by Chapman & Hall One Penn Plaza New York, NY 10119 Published in Great Britain by Chapman & Hall 2-6 Boundary Row London SEI 8HN Color illustration: Dispersion maps of 50,000 (or 10,000 in bottom row) simulated viable bacterial droplets deposited (left column) or deposited and airborne (right column) 15 (A,F), 30 (B,G), 45 (C,H), and 60 min (D,E,I,J) after spray initiation at Tulelake, CA on 28 May 1988. © 1994 Chapman & Hall, Inc. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1994 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or by an information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Disclaimer. Tltis book was written in part, and edited by Bruce Lighthart in his private capacity. No official support or endorsement by the Environmental Protection Agency or any other agency of the Federal government is intended or should be inferred. Certain chapters are written by employees of the government of the United States of America and may not be copyrighted. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Atmospheric microbial aerosols-theoretical and applied aspects / edited by Bruce Lighthart and A.J. Mohr. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Air-Microbiology. 2. Aerosols. I. Lighthart, B. II. Mohr. A. J. (Alan Jeff) QRlOl.F9 1994 576'. 190961-dc20 93-2375 CIP ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-6440-5 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-6438-2 DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4684-6438-2 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data available. Please send your order for this or any other Chapman & Hall book to Chapman & Hall, 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001, Attn: Customer Service Department. You may also call our Order Department at 1-212-244-3336 or fax your purchase order to 1-800-248-4724. For a complete listing of Chapman & Hall's titles, send your request to Chapman & Hall, Dept. BC, One Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10119. Dedication This book is dedicated with pride to my wonderful family Anne, Ian and Allie Mohr, and to my dear wife Gloria Lighthart. Contents Contributors ix 1. Introduction B. Lighthart and A. J. Mohr 2. Physics of Microbial Bioaerosols 5 B. Lighthart 3. Atmospheric Environment of Bioaerosols 28 J. Kim 4. Distribution of Microbial Bioaerosol 68 B. Lighthart and L. Stetzenbach 5. Deposition, Adhesion, and Release of Bioaerosols 99 H. H. Wickman 6. Death Mechanisms in Microbial Bioaerosols with Special Reference to 166 the Freeze-Dried Analog E. Israeli, J. Gitelman, and B. Lighthart 7. Resuscitation of Microbial Bioaerosols 192 B. Marthi 8. Instrumentation Used with Microbial Bioaerosol 226 P. A. Jensen, B. Lighthart, A. J. Mohr, and B. T. Shaffer 9. Dispersion Models of Microbial Bioaerosol 285 B. Lighthart 10. Health Aspects of Microbial Bioaerosols 304 H. Salem and D. E. Gardner 11. Regulatory Issues for Bioaerosols 331 P. Sayre, J. Burckle, G. Macek, and G. LaVeck 12. Safety and Containment of Microbial Bioaerosols 365 B. Johnson and I. G. Resnick Index 385 vii Contributors Dr. John Burckle Dr. Gerry LaV eck U. S. Environmental Protection Agency U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory Office of Pesticides and Toxic Cinncinati, OH Substances 401 M St. Dr. Donald E. Gardner Washington, DC 20460 U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010 Dr. Bruce Lighthart U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Dr. Janina Gitelman 200 SW 35th St. Institute for Biological Research Corvallis OR 97333 Ness-Ziona, Isreal Dr. G. Macek Dr. Eitan Israeli U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Institute for Biological Research Office of Pesticides and Toxic Ness-Ziona, Isreal Substances 401 M St. Dr. Paul A. Jensen Washington, DC 20460 National Institute of Occupation Safety and Health 4676 Columbia Rd. Dr. Balkumar Marthi Cinncinati, OH 45226 Hindustan Lever Ltd. Microbiology Department Research Ctr, Chakala Ms. Barbara Johnson Andheri (East) U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground Bombay, India 400099 Dugway, UT 84022 Dr. Alan J. Mohr Dr. Jinwon Kim U.S. Army Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Dugway Proving Ground Livermore, CA Dugway, UT 84022 ix x / Contributors Dr. I. Gary Resnick Ms. Brenda T. Shaffer U.S. Anny ManTech Environmental, Inc. Dugway Proving Ground 200 SW 35th St. Dugway, UT 84022 Corvallis, OR 97333 Dr. Harry Salem Dr. Linda Stetzenbach U.S. Army Environmental Research Center Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010 University of Nevada, Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV 89154 Dr. Philip Sayre U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Dr. Hollis H. Wickman Office of Pesticides and Toxic National Science Foundation Substances Washington, DC 20550 401 M St. Washington, DC 20460 1 Introduction An aerosol is a colloidal suspension of liquid droplets or solid particles in air. A bioaerosol is then defined as an aerosol whose components contain, or have attached to them, one or more microorganisms. Consequently, a microbial bioaer osol contains microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, or algae that are usually viable, i.e., alive. Bioaerosols may be relatively solid particles or liquid droplets and range in size from a single microorganism to large droplets. These droplets may contain many microorganisms, pollen grains, and agglomera tions andlor rafts of microorganisms attached to particulate plant debris, skin flakes, andlor soil particles (Fig. 1.1). Liquid droplets larger than one organism may change in size upon evaporation (or condensation), leaving an aeroplanktonic residue of nonvolatile solute, particulate matter and/or viable or non-viable mi crooganisms. (To avoid the confusion of the changing condition of a liquid droplet evaporating to a dry particle, bioaerosols in this state will be termed droplet/particles or DIPs.) The atmospheric load of bioaerosols comes from many natural and anthropo genic sources. Natural bioaerosols are generated when wind conditions entrain individual droplets and particles into the surrounding bulk atmosphere (Fig. 1.2). Wind-driven soil dust, plant debris, wave spray, bubble bursting, and rainsplash also contribute to the atmospheric load. Bioaerosols generated by human activities may be due to extramural and intramural processes. Extramural bioaerosols are produced as sprays in liquid droplets from nozzles in agricultural applications (Fig. 1.3), spray from manufacturing processes, bursting bubbles from wastewa ter treatment plants, and spray drift from nuclear cooling towers, or as dry particles from urban vehicular activity and rural agricultural practices, and perhaps even shedding from buildings. Intramural bioaerosols may be generated during walk ing, sneezing, coughing, talking, shedding of skin flakes, surgical and dental processes, and household activities including ventilation with or without air conditioning, household cleaning, toilet flushing, and so on. 1