BIOLOGICAL AEROSOLS – A ROLE OF HYGIENIC STANDARDS IN THE PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH

Biological agents are ubiquitous in many occupational and non-occupational environments. When transported in the air, they can pose a significant health risk being responsible for numerous adverse outcomes from allergic reactions, through infections and toxic responses, to various nonspecific symptoms. The problem of proper protection of both health and environment can be at least partially solved due to an application of adequate hygienic standards for biological aerosols. The paper discusses a role of hygienic standards for bioaerosols in protection of environment and health. It characterizes biological agents responsible for a contamination of both the indoor and outdoor air and, by that, for an appearance of health effects in exposed individuals as well as describes a strategy of hygienic standard elaboration. The article lists the existing worldwide standards and limit values for bioaerosols, discusses limitations of these recommendations as well as presents both historical and actual assets in that field in Poland. Moreover, the health-based and environmentally-based strategies applied in a creation process of hygienic standards for biological aerosols are discussed and comments on data interpretation and decision making issues are also given