The dustfall collector - a simple passive tool for long-term collection of airborne dust: a project under the Danish Mould In Buildings Program (DAMIB)

A newly developed dustfall device that collects airborne dust by sedimentation has been evaluated in Danish schools. Dust collected over 140 days was compared with airborne dust sampled during single school days and settled floor dust sampled at the end of a school day. Measurements of culturable fungi in air samples corresponded well to those from the dustfall collector in mechanically but not naturally ventilated rooms. Levels of beta(1 -> 3)glucan and culturable fungi in dust from the dustfall collector and settled floor dust did not agree well. Up to 10 times more beta(1 -> 3)glucan per milligram dust was found in the dustfall collectors than in settled floor dust. Only in dust from the dustfall collector was the mass concentration of culturable fungi (cfu/mg) significantly correlated with the degree of dampness. The culturability Of fungi in the 140-day dustfall samples tended to be lower than in other types of samples. Nonetheless, the results indicated that the dustfall collector call be used to estimate the median concentration of airborne culturable fungi, provided identical sampling periods are used for all samples. The collector is cost effective and Simple to use.