Markers of Chemical and Microbiological Contamination of the Air in the Sport Centers

Justyna Szulc; Małgorzata Okrasa; Małgorzata Ryngajłło; Katarzyna Pielech-Przybylska; Beata Gutarowska

doi:10.3390/molecules28083560

Markers of Chemical and Microbiological Contamination of the Air in the Sport Centers

Molecules. 2023 Apr 18;28(8):3560. doi: 10.3390/molecules28083560.

Authors

Justyna Szulc¹, Małgorzata Okrasa², Małgorzata Ryngajłło³, Katarzyna Pielech-Przybylska⁴, Beata Gutarowska¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Lodz University of Technology, 90-530 Łódź, Poland.
² Department of Personal Protective Equipment, Central Institute for Labour Protection-National Research Institute, 90-133 Łódź, Poland.
³ Institute of Molecular and Industrial Biotechnology, Lodz University of Technology, 90-573 Łódź, Poland.
⁴ Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology, Lodz University of Technology, 90-530 Łódź, Poland.

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the markers of chemical and microbiological contamination of the air at sport centers (e.g., the fitness center in Poland) including the determination of particulate matter, CO₂, formaldehyde (DustTrak™ DRX Aerosol Monitor; Multi-functional Air Quality Detector), volatile organic compound (VOC) concentration (headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry), the number of microorganisms in the air (culture methods), and microbial biodiversity (high-throughput sequencing on the Illumina platform). Additionally the number of microorganisms and the presence of SARS-CoV-2 (PCR) on the surfaces was determined. Total particle concentration varied between 0.0445 mg m^-3 and 0.0841 mg m^-3 with the dominance (99.65-99.99%) of the PM_2.5 fraction. The CO₂ concentration ranged from 800 ppm to 2198 ppm, while the formaldehyde concentration was from 0.005 mg/m³ to 0.049 mg m^-3. A total of 84 VOCs were identified in the air collected from the gym. Phenol, D-limonene, toluene, and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol dominated in the air at the tested facilities. The average daily number of bacteria was 7.17 × 10² CFU m^-3-1.68 × 10³ CFU m^-3, while the number of fungi was 3.03 × 10³ CFU m^-3-7.34 × 10³ CFU m^-3. In total, 422 genera of bacteria and 408 genera of fungi representing 21 and 11 phyla, respectively, were detected in the gym. The most abundant bacteria and fungi (>1%) that belonged to the second and third groups of health hazards were: Escherichia-Shigella, Corynebacterium, Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Cladosporium, Aspergillus, and Penicillium. In addition, other species that may be allergenic (Epicoccum) or infectious (Acinetobacter, Sphingomonas, Sporobolomyces) were present in the air. Moreover, the SARS-CoV-2 virus was detected on surfaces in the gym. The monitoring proposal for the assessment of the air quality at a sport center includes the following markers: total particle concentration with the PM_2.5 fraction, CO₂ concentration, VOCs (phenol, toluene, and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol), and the number of bacteria and fungi.

Keywords: CO2; VOCs; air contamination; bioaerosol; particulate matter; sport center.

MeSH terms

Air Microbiology
Air Pollution, Indoor* / analysis
Bacteria
COVID-19* / epidemiology
Carbon Dioxide / analysis
Environmental Monitoring
Fungi
Mitosporic Fungi*
Occupational Exposure* / analysis
Particulate Matter / analysis
Phenols / analysis
Respiratory Aerosols and Droplets
SARS-CoV-2

Substances

2-ethylhexanol
Carbon Dioxide
Particulate Matter
Phenols

Grants and funding

The research was carried out within the "Assessment of biological hazards in sports facilities" project under the "FU2N - Young Scientists' Skills Improvement Fund" program supporting sci-entific excellence at the Lodz University of Technology/Lodz University of Technology