The objective of our study was to assess the knowledge of pesticide applicators and distributors in comparison with that of the general population of workers in Lebanon, as well as protection measures taken by applicators.
Sampling Procedures
Two hundred and fifty-four air samples were collected at
various sites on a campus university; these included the
study areas in the library, teaching rooms, offices, bookshops,
and restaurants. All the sites selected for sampling
were served by mechanical ventilation and air-conditioning
(MVAC) Systems. One outdoor sample was taken every
day at the plant room during the measurement period, and
a total of 43 outdoor samples were taken. The samples were
collected using the Burkard Single-Stage Air Sampler
(Burkard Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Hertfordshire,
England) with agar plates. The detectable range for this
sampler is 0–2200 cfu m3
, and the lowest detection limit is
8 cfu m3
. The sampling time for the Burkard Sampler was
7 min because according to the protocol set by the
American Industrial Hygiene Association [13], the sampling
time for an Anderson Bacteria Sampler was 5 min.
Since the flow rate of the Anderson Sampler was
28.3 L min1
, while the flow rate for the Burkard
Sampler was 20 L min1
, the sampling time of the
Burkard Sampler was calculated by the following formula:
Sampling time for Burkard Sampler ¼ (28.3 L min1 *
5 min)/20 L min1
, which was 7.1 min. Before sampling,
the air sampler was disinfected with 70% isopropyl
alcohol. During the sampling period, the number of
occupants at each sampling site was counted; the level of
carbon dioxide (CO2), relative humidity and temperature
were recorded by Q-trak (TSI) at each sampling site for
8 h. The readings for the Q-trak were set at 1 min intervals.
An un-inoculated agar plate was carried to the sampling
site to test whether there was any contamination on the agar
plates. The plate was set aside at the sampling site with lid
unopened. If contamination did not happen, no colonies
would form on the blank agar plate after incubation.
Cult