Airborne Microbial Concentrations in Microbiology Laboratories, Faculty of Science, Ubon Ratchathani University
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Abstract
This research is a survey aiming to investigate the concentrations of airborne microorganisms in 5 microbiology laboratories, Faculty of Science, Ubon Ratchathani University. The concentrations of microorganisms before and after classes were compared using the Paired Samples t Test and the relationship between microbial concentrations and environmental factors was analyzed using Pearson correlation and Spearman’s rank correlation. Microbial concentrations were measured using a single-stage impactor following the Manual of Analytical Methods 0800 : Bioaerosols Sampling of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Temperature, relative humidity and air velocity were also measured using a velocity meter. The results revealed that the concentrations of airborne microorganisms in all laboratories did not exceed the recommended guidelines of the Thai Ministry of Public Health, SPRING (The Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board) Singapore and NIOSH. A comparison of microbial concentrations before and after classes found that the number of fungi before the class started and after the class ended were significantly different at the 0.05 level (p-value = 0.010), while the number of bacteria before the class started and after the class ended were not significantly different (p-value = 0.769). The analysis of the relationship between the microbial concentrations and environmental factors revealed that temperature and relative humidity were significantly correlated with the concentrations of fungi in the air after the class ended at the 0.05 level (p-value = 0.011 and 0.017, respectively). The research findings can be used for planning the use and management of microbiology laboratories to ensure microbiological safety.
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บทความที่ได้รับการตีพิมพ์เป็นลิขสิทธิ์ของ วารสารวิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี มหาวิทยาลัยอุบลราชธานี
ข้อความที่ปรากฏในบทความแต่ละเรื่องในวารสารวิชาการเล่มนี้เป็นความคิดเห็นส่วนตัวของผู้เขียนแต่ละท่านไม่เกี่ยวข้องกับมหาวิทยาลัยอุบลราชธานี และคณาจารย์ท่านอื่นๆในมหาวิทยาลัยฯ แต่อย่างใด ความรับผิดชอบองค์ประกอบทั้งหมดของบทความแต่ละเรื่องเป็นของผู้เขียนแต่ละท่าน หากมีความผิดพลาดใดๆ ผู้เขียนแต่ละท่านจะรับผิดชอบบทความของตนเองแต่ผู้เดียว
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