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Vacuum Cleaner Emissions as a Source of Indoor Exposure to Airborne Particles and Bacteria

January 6, 2012 Comments off

Vacuum Cleaner Emissions as a Source of Indoor Exposure to Airborne Particles and Bacteria
Source: Environmental Science & Technology

Vacuuming can be a source of indoor exposure to biological and nonbiological aerosols, although there are few data that describe the magnitude of emissions from the vacuum cleaner itself. We therefore sought to quantify emission rates of particles and bacteria from a large group of vacuum cleaners and investigate their potential determinants, including temperature, dust bags, exhaust filters, price, and age. Emissions of particles between 0.009 and 20 μm and bacteria were measured from 21 vacuums. Ultrafine (<100 nm) particle emission rates ranged from 4.0 × 106 to 1.1 × 1011 particles min–1. Emission of 0.54–20 μm particles ranged from 4.0 × 104 to 1.2 × 109 particles min–1. PM2.5 emissions were between 2.4 × 10–1 and 5.4 × 103 μg min–1. Bacteria emissions ranged from 0 to 7.4 × 105 bacteria min–1 and were poorly correlated with dust bag bacteria content and particle emissions. Large variability in emission of all parameters was observed across the 21 vacuums, which was largely not attributable to the range of determinant factors we assessed. Vacuum cleaner emissions contribute to indoor exposure to nonbiological and biological aerosols when vacuuming, and this may vary markedly depending on the vacuum used.

See: Older, Cheaper Vacuum Cleaners Release More Bacteria and Dust (Science Daily)

Oil Biodegradation and Bioremediation: A Tale of the Two Worst Spills in U.S. History

September 17, 2011 Comments off

Oil Biodegradation and Bioremediation: A Tale of the Two Worst Spills in U.S. History
Source: Environmental Science & Technology

The devastating environmental impacts of the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 and its media notoriety made it a frequent comparison to the BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the popular press in 2010, even though the nature of the two spills and the environments impacted were vastly different. Fortunately, unlike higher organisms that are adversely impacted by oil spills, microorganisms are able to consume petroleum hydrocarbons. These oil degrading indigenous microorganisms played a significant role in reducing the overall environmental impact of both the Exxon Valdez and BP Deepwater Horizon oil spills.

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