Define bioaerosol and name one method to sample it in a BEA context.

• A. Aerosols containing biological particles; sampled using active air samplers with culture media or PCR.
• B. Aerosols that are only dust; sampling with vacuum.
• C. Gaseous pollutants; sampling with chemical sensors.
• D. Water vapor; sampling with hygrometers.

Answer: (A)

Bioaerosol is an aerosol that contains biological particles such as bacteria, viruses, fungal spores, or other microorganisms or their fragments suspended in air. In BEA practice, sampling typically involves an active air sampler that pulls a known volume of air through a collection medium. The collected material can then be cultured on growth media to count viable organisms, or processed for DNA analysis such as PCR to detect specific organisms. This approach directly targets airborne biologicals and provides actionable information about exposure risk.

The other ideas don’t fit as well: dust-only aerosols are not necessarily biological, and vacuuming alone isn’t a standard method for collecting a known air volume for bioaerosol analysis. Gaseous pollutants and water vapor are chemical or environmental measurements, not biological particles.