Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

An evaluation of airborne bacteria concentrations and ventilation rates in an industrial office environment

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/ng451m04q

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  • This study investigated the relationship between airborne bacteria densities and varying ventilation rates in industrial office areas. The two objectives of this study were as follows: to determine the correlation of bacteria density and ventilation rates in each sample area. to measure the reported incidence of respiratory illness in each sample area. Fifty-four samples were collected from three companies in the local area. Six sampling sites in each company were sampled three times each, 30 days apart. At each sampling site a survey was administered to all employees working in that area. The study design consisted of two sets of data. The first was a correlation of bacteria density to seven independent variables, consisting of important factors associated with each study area. The second was a comparison of the percentage of healthy office workers with eight factors taken from the survey questionnaire. A correlation coefficient distribution was used to compare bacteria density to the independent variables listed above. Analysis of the results of this research provided the following conclusions: 1. The necessary sampling period for industrial office area environments to obtain adequate bacteria colony formation on the cascade impaction collection media was 45 minutes. 2. The normal airborne bacteria density in industrial office areas appeared to be 30 colony-forming units per meter cubed. 3. The air exchange rate, in the range normally experienced in industrial office areas, seemed to have no significant effect on airborne bacteria densities. 4. Illness prevalence among the employees working in the areas sampled in this study appeared to be approximately 50 percent. 5. Negative correlations of temperature and time of day to airborne bacteria density occurred at one of three corporations. Since this was the only company with a variable ventilation system which operated only during the day, further study in this area is warranted. 6. Sixty-five percent of the people who had allergies considered themselves to be in good health. It can be hypothesized that some of the illness reported by the nonhealthy people was really due to allergies. 7. Fifty-eight percent of the respondents who had a low opinion of their air-handling systems considered themselves to be unhealthy. These individuals tended to attribute their illness to the poor ventilation system.
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