Abstract:
Objective To investigate the sanitary condition of central air conditioning ventilation systems in hotels and hospitals in Fengtai District, Beijing, China, identify the main problems, and put forward targeted improvement measures and suggestions.
Methods In 2023—2024, monitoring of central air conditioning ventilation systems was carried out 35 times in 18 hotels and hospitals in Fengtai District, Beijing. The fresh air volume was tested, and samples of air-conditioning supply air, the inner surface of air duct, and cooling water were collected for testing of indicators such as the total number of bacteria, total number of fungi, β-hemolytic streptococcus, amount of dust accumulation, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2), and Legionella pneumophila.
Results The overall qualified rate of central air conditioning ventilation systems in hotels and hospitals in Fengtai District was 56.25% in 2023—2024, and the qualified rate was not significantly different between different years and different places (χ2=0.26, 0.01, P>0.05). There was a significant difference in qualified rate between samples of different categories (χ2=111.75, P < 0.001), and the qualified rate of air-conditioning supply air samples was the lowest at 19.32%. In the indicator testing of each category of samples, the lowest qualified rate of total number of bacteria was 30.68% for air-conditioning supply air samples and 88.64% for inner surface samples of the air duct; the lowest qualified rate of free chlorine was 25.00% for cooling water samples; there were significant differences in the qualified rates of indicators for samples of different categories (χ2=152.10, 24.12, 16.95, P < 0.001). The maximum value of total number of bacteria was 7 800 CFU/m3 in the supply air, exceeding the standard by 14.6 times, and 672 CFU/cm2 on the inner surface of the air duct, exceeding the standard by 5.7 times. The detection rate of L. pneumophila in cooling water samples was 27.27% (12/44).
Conclusion The main problems of central air conditioning ventilation systems in hotels and hospitals in Fengtai District are poor supply air quality and serious L. pneumophila contamination in cooling water. Sanitary management of air conditioning systems in public places should be carried out as required.