BS EN 14583:2021 pdf free download – Workplace exposure一Volumetric bioaerosol samplers – General requirements and evaluation of performance.
The microbial model organisms (see Annex C) and media used for their growth shall he specified and should be appropriate to the end use of the sampler. The microbial strains shall be available from a standard culture collection (i.e. ATCC, CCUG, NCTC, CBS, DSMZ).
NOTE Microbial model organisms can be cultivated in liquid, solid or semisolid culture media. The bioaerosol can be generated from water or selected buffer solutions. This can change the surface characteristics of the bioaerosol particles. Spore aerosols can also he generated from dust or powder. See references (I to [11J.
6.4 Environmental conditions
6.4.1 General
Samplers need to perform optimally in typical ambient environmental conditions. Tests therefore shall be carried out to determine the impact of variations in air temperature, air pressure, and relative humidity conditions on flow rate and sampled air volume.
The tests shall be performed inside a test facility, with controlled temperature and relative humidity. A separate enclosure can be needed for the tests with a variable air pressure. Sufficient replicates of each combination of temperature and relative humidity conditions used shall be tested to determine statistical significance. The environmental conditions shall be monitored during sampling time. The mean of each measured variable and its standard deviation shall be calculated. The results of the tests shall be given in the test report and the operating conditions shall be documented.
6.4.2 Temperature
The tests shall be carried out at specified temperatures. At least two different conditions of temperature (for example, about 10 °C and 25 °C) shall be used to cover the range as expected to be used by the sampler.
6.7 Airflow of test facility
When testing samplers the airflow in which the samplers have been tested shall be stated.
7 Test report
A test report describing the results of all the tests shall be provided with the volumetric bioaerosol sampler by the manufacturer.
The test report shall contain at least the following information:
a) reference to this document (“EN 14583:2021”);
A.1 General
Personal sampling is performed when assessing the exposure to biological agents at the workplace. A stationary sampling is also helpful in order to assess the ambient concentration of microorganisms that are emitted in a given working area.
Physical sampling efficiency can be interpreted as the percentage of ambient particles of specific size that are sampled and collected by the bioaerosol sampler. As airborne microorganisms often adhere to non- biological particles of various sizes, the measurement of concentration of microorganisms implies knowledge of particle size.
The behaviour and composition of bioaerosols can only be accurately described once the principles of aerosol sampling and biological assay are understood. It is important that samplers collect a representative sample of the required fraction of the bioaerosol with the minimum of stress, so that the biological activity of the aerosol is not significantly impaired. It is possible, that these two requirements are not compatible, particularly with vegetative microorganisms and sensitive microbial compounds. Ideally, the total number concentration, size distribution and viable number concentration of the airborne microorganisms are known in order to assess possible hazards.