B062 Office airborne fungi

Indoor airborne fungi levels in air-conditioned offices of Hong Kong

Brief:

Assessment of indoor airborne fungi exposure is important in indoor air quality (IAQ) investigations as airborne fungi would associate with adverse health concerns; however, it is noted that it is not included in many IAQ assessments in Hong Kong. This study examined the indoor airborne fungi count (AFC) in 82 air-conditioned offices which were audited as having ‘Excellent’ IAQ. The results showed that the AFC ranged from 0 to 92 CFU m^-3 with an arithmetic mean (AM) of 29 CFU m^-3. The dominant indoor airborne fungal genera were Aspergillus, Cladosporium and Penicillium, which were presented in 50%, 49% and 56% of the samples and contributed to 29%, 17% and 26% of the total AFC respectively. The mean AFC in these offices were significantly lower (p<0.05) than the typical air-conditioned offices (AM=147 CFU m^-3) of Hong Kong. This study would be useful for understanding the exposure level of indoor airborne fungi in air-conditioned offices in Hong Kong.

Further Information:

Chan WY, Mui KW, Wong LT, 2008. Indoor airborne fungi levels in air-conditioned offices of Hong Kong, The 9^th International Symposium on Building and Urban Environmental Engineering (BUEE), 7-10 July, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, pp. 147-151.