S54 Abstracts J ALLERGY CLIN IMMUNOL JANUARY 2002 11n Domestic Vacuum Cleaning Increases Personal Mite Allergen •'It Exposure B Durrell*, S Bishop*, RB Gore§, L Curbishley*, FI Smillie§, Adnan Cus- tovic§, Ashley A Woodcock§ *North West Lung Center, Manchester, UK §Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, UK Vacuum cleaning of carpets can increase airborne mite allergen levels and personal mite allergen exposure. Vacuum cleaner design has improved, with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters and multi-layer vacuum clean- er bags. Assessment of personal exposure to aeroallergens is problematic. Previous studies have employed proxy measures of exposure. We used the intra NasalAir Sampler to investigate personal mite allergen (Der p 1) expo- sure during vacuum cleaning in 11 homes. We compared 4 new HEPA-filter vacuum cleaners, a bagless cyclone vacuum cleaner (with a new HEPA and S-class filter) and a prototype water-reservoir cleaner, with the same old cylinder cleaner leaving 24 hours between each vacuuming. Two volunteers each took a 15 minute baseline nasal air sample, then a 15 minute sample while one vacuumed. Later, vacuum cleaners were emptied and exposure measured during emptying. Nasal air samples were immunostained for Der p 1 (Halogen protocol, Inhalix Pty, Sydney, Australia). Der p l-positive par- ticles ('halos') were counted and data were square root transformed for analysis of variance. Data shown are square root detransformed means and 95% confidence intervals (table). There was a significant increase in particle count during vacuuming (F=5.3, df=l, 68, p=0.025). There were no differ- ences between individual models of vacuum cleaner (F=1.715, df =6,68 p=0.121), upright or cylinder design, nor between the 5 HEPA cleaners com- pared with the old cylinder cleaner (F=2.548, df 1,59, p=0.116). There was a significant increase in mite allergen exposure (F=7.3, df 1,39, p=0.01) dur- ing the bag emptying process and counts were of a magnitude similar to 15 minutes of domestic vacuuming exposure (fold increase above ambient level = 3.2, 95% CI 0.8, 18.4). This real-life study demonstrates an increase in per- sonal mite allergen exposure during vacuuming in the home. This increase is not prevented by the use of modern HEPA-filter vacuum cleaners and is like- ly to be due to dust raised by the sweeping action of vacuum cleaning. How- ever, absolute numbers of mite-bearing particles inspired before and during vacuuming are small indicating that personal daytime mite allergen expo- sure in the home is low grade. Condition N Mean count (95%CI) Vacuuming Baseline 36 2.1 (1.4, 2.8) Vacuuming 36 3.2 (2.2, 4.4) Bag emptying Baseline 24 0.7 (0.2, 1.6) Emptying 24 2.3 (1.3, 3.7) 1 ~ Relationship of Environmental Factors to Asthma and Rhiuitis ~1 Symptomsin Tulsa, Oklahoma Cashel P Newhouse, Estelle Levetin University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK Asthma symptoms are known to be associated with the levels of airborne allergens and air pollutants, as well as changing meteorological conditions. This current study correlated airborne fungal spore and pollen concentra- tions, meteorological data, and airborne pollutants with daily asthma and rhinitis symptoms from 24 subjects in Tulsa, Oklahoma during September and October 2000. The objective of this exploratory study was to develop predictive models for asthma severity. Subjects with a physician diagnosis of asthma were recruited from the Tulsa area. Each subject completed daily symptom diaries and measured AM and PM Peak Expiratory Flow Rates. Atmospheric samples were collected using a Burkard volumetric spore trap located on the roof of a building at The University of Tulsa. Meteorological data were obtained from the National Weather Service and air pollution data were obtained from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. During the study period, the predominant airborne spore types included Cladosporium, ascospores, and basidiospores. Peak spore con- centrations occurred during the last week of October with total spore levels over 30,000 spores/m3. The predominant pollen type was Ambrosia. Peak concentrations occurred during the third week of September, although pollen levels were considerably lower than previous years. September was unusually hot and dry in Tulsa, but 161 mm of precipitation fell in October, primarily during the last 11 days. Two periods of elevated symptoms occurred during the study, the first during the peak week of Ambrosia pollen and the second after a 22 C drop in temperature. Forward stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed for each symptom to deter- mine sets of environmental variables that could be used to predict the condi- tions of increased symptom severity. There was no single set of variables for all symptoms; however, the multiple regression analyses resulted in sep- arate predictive models with significant R 2 and beta values for the environ- mental variables for 11 symptoms examined in this study. Additional study with a greater number of subjects is needed to determine if these predictive models are valid. 1 c Comparison of Indoor Airborne Spore Collections in Residen- U tial, Commercial and School Buildings Frank Hu, Charles S Barnes, Gabriella Kusko, Jay Pormoy Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO INTRODUCTION: Microscopic enumeration of airborne spoors is used increasingly in indoor air quality investigations. To examine the pat- tern of airborne spore counts for residential, commercial and school build- ings the following studies were conducted. METHODS: Consecutive airborne collections submitted to the labora- tory for evaluation were included in the study. All of these collections were made as a result of indoor air quality complaints. Collections were made with an Allergenco MK-3 spore trap operating at an inlet velocity of 15 liters per minute. Collection time was either 5 or 10 minutes. Slides were mounted with glycerin jelly containing Calberlas solution for contrast. Spores were identified and counted microscopically at 1000×. Counting and collection was performed so that the general limit of detection was 7 spores per cubic meter of air. Counts were represented as the number of spores per cubic meter of air. RESULTS: Indoor airborne spore counts were conducted for 110 build- ings. The number of collections averaged 4.9 per building for a total of 539 individual collections. Collections represented Residential buildings (323) Commercial buildings (129) and Schools (87). Average total airborne spore counts were 57,647, 7035 and 1053 for Residences, Schools and Commer- cial buildings respectively. Aspergillus/Penicillum spores represent the highest average count for any spore type in each of the three types of build- ings with Residential (40,314), Schools (6103) and Commercial (592). Air- borne Aspergillus/Penicillium spores were found in 50% of School collec- tions, 41% of Commercial collections and 49% of Residential collections. Airborne Cladosporium spores were found in 67% of School collections, 85% of Commercial collections and 80% of Residential collections. Air- borne Stachybotrys spores were found in 6% of School collections, 8% of Commercial collections and 26% of Residential collections. CONCLUSIONS: Airborne sore collections can provide valuable information concerning the indoor air quality in many types of buildings. Each building type has particular intrinsic characteristics the are often reflected in the types of spores prevalent in airborne collections. I 1 7 Airborne Endotoxin Concentrations in Domestic E nvironment Sophie Guggino, Florence Lieutier-Colas, Audrey Lintz, Martine Ott, AngOle Vdrot, Gabrielle Pauli, Frdd~ric De Blay Htpitaux University de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France AIMS: To measure airborne endotoxin concentrations in domestic envi- ronment and assess the role of factors related to the house characteristics. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Each dwelling characteristics (pres- ence of plants, pets or fitted carpets, temperature and relative humidity) were recorded. In 46 dwellings, airborne individual samples (n = 72) and static samples (n = 80 in living-rooms and n = 38 in bedrooms) were carried out. Individual measurements were performed using glass fibre filters (Mil- lipore, London) related to a portable pump (Gilair Panametrics, France) at 2 l/rain for 8h, and static measurements with a pump (Bioblock, France) at 20 1/min for lh. Endotoxin measurements were performed using the Limulus