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Abundance and health risk of bioaerosols in the coastal areas of Qingdao, China

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Abstract

Bioaerosols can be spread through coughing, sneezing, respiratory droplets and aerosol particles, and public awareness of the health risks of bioaerosols has increased. Based on bioaerosol culturable microbe concentration data collected from March–December in 2015, 2018 and 2019, the health risks of bioaerosols were assessed by air quality level, month, population, and particle size using an average daily dose rate model. The concentration of culturable microorganisms is related to the air quality index (AQI). Under AQI values ranging from 51–100, the concentration of culturable microorganisms was the highest, while the concentration of culturable microorganisms was the lowest for AQI values ranging from 101–150. The health risk in June and July 2015 was the highest, the change trends in 2018 and 2019 were similar, the health risk was the highest in October, and the health risk of bioaerosols along the inhalation route was 103–104 times that along the exposure route. The health risk of bioaerosols was generally higher in summer and autumn than in spring and winter over the three-year period. The health risk for different categories of individuals indicated the same trend over the 3-year period, with the health risk for adults exceeding that for children and the health risk for men exceeding that for women. The health risk of bioaerosols was high under particle sizes ranging from 1.10–4.70 μm. The study results could provide data support for the analysis of bioaerosol-related health risks and offer a reference for the prevention and control of urban microbial diseases.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Key R&D Program of Shandong Province (Major Scientific and Technological Innovation Project) (No. 2020CXGC010703-5).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, People’s Republic of China

    Lingchong Yan, Ting Zhang, Chen Han, Xianguo Li & Dahai Zhang

  2. Bureau of Meteorology, Qingdao Mount Lao District, Qingdao, 266107, People’s Republic of China

    Shaohua Sun

  3. Management Service Center, Lofty Peak Tourist List of National Parks of China, Mount Lao, Qingdao, 266100, People’s Republic of China

    Yongzhong Song

  4. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, People’s Republic of China

    Yao Wang & Jianhua Qi

Authors
  1. Lingchong Yan
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  2. Ting Zhang
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  3. Shaohua Sun
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  4. Yongzhong Song
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  5. Chen Han
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  6. Yao Wang
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  7. Jianhua Qi
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  8. Xianguo Li
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  9. Dahai Zhang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation and sampling collection were performed by Ting Zhang, Chen Han and Yao Wang. Meteorological data collection was performed by Shaohua Sun and Yongzhong Song. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Lingchong Yan. Dahai Zhang, Jianhua Qi and Xianguo Li revised the original manuscript. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Dahai Zhang.

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Yan, L., Zhang, T., Sun, S. et al. Abundance and health risk of bioaerosols in the coastal areas of Qingdao, China. Aerobiologia (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-024-09822-0

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