What Is Air Sampling?

Air sampling is one of many processes that are used to monitor the health and safety of workers in industry

. Atmospheric monitoring practices recognise that the air can be a significant and pervasive source for microbiological contamination and monitors it for the presence of hazardous, particulates, dust and other contaminants. Very small contaminants such as bacterial cells and spores can remain suspended in the atmosphere for an extended period of time, rendering efforts to clean and sterilise surfaces useless. Air sampling targets these and other contaminants present to ensure a healthy environment.

Air sampling is very important in areas with a high risk of biological contamination, such as hospitals. It is also important in industries where there is a risk present from raw materials, such as chemical production, agriculture, and metals, wood or even textiles manufacturing. Various industries, such as food production and distribution, also require a high level of sterility during every stage of production, making environmental monitoring necessary to the health and safety of consumers. Environmental monitoring has even been used in corporate office buildings and residential buildings to monitor the health of inhabitants and to prevent the spread of contagious diseases caused by invisible micro-organisms.

There are two main air sampling methods, being active and passive. Passive monitoring is usually done using 'settle plates' which are Petri dishes containing a non-selective culture medium. The settle plates are left uncovered in the targeted environment, allowing bacterial contaminants to settle in the medium. The settle plates are then incubated, letting the bacteria grow into visible colonies, and finally analysed. Passive monitoring is generally seen as a less desirable process than active monitoring, because there are many ways in which the sample can get contaminated or become unreadable. Passive monitoring does, however offer a very cost effective solution and makes an interesting sampling procedure to satisfy curiosity in low-risk environments.

Active monitoring involves drawing a known volume of air through a particle collection device to give a highly accurate quantitative analysis of the contaminants present. Active air sampling devices are further split into two categories: impingers and impactors. Impingers use suction pumps to draw in the sample, and to run it against a liquid medium which collects particulates for analysis. Impactors also use a suction pump, but then push the air sample against a solid collection medium, such as an agar plate. Impactors are considered to be the more convenient option and are therefore more widely used in industry.

by: Adam

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