Detection and characterisation of inflammatory agents associated with bioaerosol emitted from biowaste and intensive agriculture

The biowaste (eg composting) and intensive agriculture (eg housed poultry / pigs) industries emit bioaerosol of significance to human health. Whilst some progress has been made in characterising emissions from these industries relatively little headway has been made regarding the linked research questions of: understanding exposure of the general public to bioaerosol; putting process-based exposures into the context of background exposure to natural bioaerosol (or other anthropogenic sources); quantifying health risk and setting health-based standards. A critical limiting factor in all of these areas is the lack of advanced microbiological methods (sampling, analytical, interpretative) to quantify and qualify bioaerosol emissions and dispersion. Our current evidence base is almost entirely reliant on short duration "snapshot" sampling and culture-dependent microbiology. Whilst traditional microbiology remains fit for purpose in specific circumstances, new fast and efficient methods are needed to understand the nature and significance of non-viable bioaerosol fractions and to develop a new generation of monitoring approaches to deal with the research questions posed above.
Aerosolised endotoxin is an attractive research subject in the context of this NERC programme. It is ubiquitous in biowaste and agricultural emissions. Previous occupational bioaerosol research has established an exposure-response relationship. In the Netherlands, endotoxin is regarded as the prime candidate for health-based bioaerosol emission limits / exposure guidelines for workers and the public. Yet, confidence in the development and implementation of evidence-based regulation of this bioaerosol molecule continues to be constrained by gaps in our fundamental understanding of the nature of endotoxin in ambient air which in turn stems from limitations in measurement techniques. In this research we aim to develop new methodologies capable of characterising and quantifying emissions of endotoxin in air.
Objectives
- develop new methods to size fractionate endotoxin and elucidate structural features;
- develop a novel biosensor for rapid detection of endotoxin, other inflammatory agents and cells (live/dead)
- use the WIBS real-time bioaerosol sensor to understand emission and dispersion of bioaerosol including endotoxin
- characterise industry-specific bioaerosol emissions at composting and farm sites
- detect microbial pathogens at biowaste and intensive agricultural facilities using novel methods
- generate improved exposure assessments around biowaste / intensive agricultural facilities using dispersion modelling and Openair.
Whilst our work plan focuses on new endotoxin detection methods we are cogniscent of the fact that there are other biomolecules in air that promote inflammation when inhaled. These will be detected by the novel biosensor and we aim to distinguish the signalling pathways and demonstrate how the cells respond to different biomolecular challenges.
The research team has unparalleled experience in translating cutting edge bioaerosol science into policy and practice. Uncertainty with respect to health effects from regulated industrial processes is deleterious to all stakeholders concerned including the public, regulators, the Government, industry and investors. The public remains fearful of the potential health impacts. Regulators face uncertainty in terms of striking the right balance between public health protection and encouraging economic development. Planning and licensing delays constrain Government waste strategy and economic development initiatives and create problems for entrepreneurs trying to deliver Government targets and establish viable businesses. Whilst this research will be underpinned by excellent new science, it is clear that the impact agenda is driven by the potential for translating this into a regulatory science evidence base, new regulatory guidance and models for the protection of public health.

The key beneficiaries of this research are:
-Policy makers and regulators of biowaste and intensive agriculture
-The biowaste and intensive agriculture industry
-Industry associations e.g. Renewable Energy Association and NFU
-The general public living near these facilities
-Health Services, Health & Safety Executive and Public Health England

Emission of bioaerosols from composting and intensive agriculture is a critical concern for the public; for the industry, which needs to generate the business confidence required to secure investment in new infrastructure (and which often faces opposition from local people at the planning stage); for regulators who need robust evidence for proportionate decisions; and for the delivery of the Government waste strategy.

The impact of this proposal falls into three categories from the RCUK typologies:

Improving health & wellbeing
The results from this research will be used to improve current bioaerosol dispersion modelling protocols, allowing improved predictions of downwind concentrations and the duration of exposure to bioaerosols from composting. This research will provide a significant step towards defining clear exposure limits for environmental exposure to bioaerosols.

Evidence based policy-making and influencing public policies
The Environment Agency (EA) based its first position statement on bioaerosols from composting in 2001 on the limited bioaerosols information available at the time at a time of unprecedented growth in the UK composting industry. The EA had to strike a balance between: the precautionary principle (in the absence of a strong evidence base); the commercial needs of a burgeoning industry; and the national requirement to divert organic waste from landfill. Whilst the evidence base has been significantly strengthened in the past ten years, there is a way to go before regulatory policy on bioaerosols in ambient air could be considered stable (the fact that the current position statement is referred to as "interim" guidance indicates that regulation is expected to change as new information becomes available). The EA currently has no formal position statement on bioaerosols from intensive agriculture and it needs one.

The research consortium has strong links with the EA. The key impact of this research will be improvements in the EA's ability to regulate composting and intensive agriculture, as well as influencing the planning and design of control mechanisms for bioaerosols, essential for improving the health and wellbeing of UK citizens. This research will provide the scientific evidence to support regulatory decision making and provide confidence to the public that these facilities can be safely operated.

Enhancing the research capacity, knowledge and skills of public, private and third sector organisations
This research will benefit the site operators by developing and testing novel methods for monitoring bioaerosols; provide insights into the mechanisms that influence dispersal of bioaerosol emissions; and support the development of procedures to reduce their impacts on the environment. Additionally, the novel science generated may reduce the requirement for expensive monitoring regimes and so provide economic benefits to site operators.

Other potential beneficiaries include industry bodies who are providing information to their members regarding bioaerosols, and who have experienced difficulties due to the lack of information in this area. These include the Renewable Energy Association, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management and the NFU.

We also anticipate commercial opportunities arising from the research. We have strong links with Droplet Measurement Technologies who are developing the WIBS and with Lonza who make endotoxin detection kits.

The mechanisms to achieve impact are described in the Pathways to Impact.