Investigation of tsunami deposit as a source of airborne dust and its potential effect and prevention for infection by bioaerosols

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24651028
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Environmental impact assessment/Environmental policy
• Research Institution: Rakuno Gakuen University
• Principal Investigator: NODA Jun 酪農学園大学, 獣医学群, 准教授 (70551670)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): HAGIWARA Katsuro 酪農学園大学, 獣医学群, 教授 (50295896)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: バイオエアロゾル / バクテリア / 浮遊粒子状物質 / 大気環境

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Dry marine sediment and sludge deposit may become a source of suspended particulate matter (SPM) after the tsunami disaster in 2011, Japan. Further understanding of interaction between SPM and bioaeosol in the atmosphere may contribute to prevent spread of pathogenic microbes through air. This work investigates the effect of marine deposits and some other type of SPM to attribute a survival of biological aerosol in the tropospheric condition. Experiments were carried out with a reaction chamber to examine different types of SPM and bioaerosol in a laboratory. Results indicated that the SPM of marine deposit and model enteric bacteria had significantly higher survival rate than other SPMs examined. The different SPMs may play a significant role for the survival of airborne bacteria and other pathogenic microbes. It is necessary to further investigate the interactions between SPM and bioaerosols to understand factor influencing spread of pathogens to safeguard public health.

Free Research Field

環境衛生