Micromycetes in Industrial and Household Dust: Peculiarities, Effect on Manufacturing and People’s Safety

Abstract

Taking into account that dust is an aggressive environment factor which often determines the success of food-stuff production, the durability of technological equipment and people’s safety, dust from 8 groups of premises of different purposes was collected and compared. One hundred test portions were taken and investigated from 28 premises of different purposes. The humidity of dust, the variety of inorganic and organic substances, dust elemental composition, its contamination with propagules and myotoxins were determined, the micromycetes detected in dust were isolated and identified. The major part of isolates detected in dust were ascribed to the micromycetes of Penicillium genus, which due to their biological peculiarities are able to spread rapidly and release toxic metabolites into the environment: The degree of spreading of fungi of Aspergillus genus was somewhat lower. Some of the toxins mentioned which are synthesized and released into the environment (aflatoxins, ochratoxins, patulin) can be controlled.