Concentrations and identification of culturable airborne fungi in underground stations of the Seoul metro

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 23; no. 20; pp. 20680 - 20686
• Main Authors: Hwang, Sung Ho, Jang, Soojin, Park, Wha Me, Park, Jae Bum
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.10.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Air Microbiology; Air pollution; Air quality; Airborne microorganisms; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Cotton; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental factors; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental science; Fungi; Geotrichum; Geotrichum - growth & development; Geotrichum - isolation & purification; Humans; Humidity; Indoor air quality; Indoor environments; Limit of Detection; Outdoor air quality; Penicillium; Penicillium - growth & development; Penicillium - isolation & purification; Railroads; Relative humidity; Research Article; Seoul; Studies; Subways; Transportation terminals; Ventilation; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; South Korea; Seoul South Korea; Korea, Rep., Seoul; Relative humidity; Culturable airborne fungi; Underground subway stations; Ventilation system; Indoor air quality
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-016-7291-z

The purpose of this study was to measure the culturable airborne fungi (CAF) concentrations in the underground subway stations of Seoul, Korea at two time points. This study measured the CAF concentrations in enclosed environments at 16 underground stations of the Seoul Metro in 2006 and 2013 and investigated the effects of various environmental factors, including the presence of platform screen doors, temperature, relative humidity, and number of passengers. CAF concentrations at the stations in 2006 were significantly higher than that at the same stations in 2013 ( p  < 0.001). Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between CAF concentration and relative humidity ( r  = 0.311, p  < 0.05). Geotrichum and Penicillium were the predominant genera. The CAF concentrations in stations with an operating supply air were significantly higher than that in stations with no supply air ( p  < 0.001). Therefore, it is recommended that special attention be given to stations with clean supplied air to improve the indoor air quality of these subway stations.