Ambient Organic Compounds in the Tropics and their Relationship to Microbial Effects.
Abstract
The US Army Tropic Test Center identified ambient levels of organic compounds and determined their relationship to fungus growth and materials deterioration in the Panama Canal Zone. The study was conducted in two parts: a field phase which sampled seven test sites in the Canal Zone for volatile and condensed organic materials; and a laboratory phase which used controlled experiments to study relationships among selected monoterpenes, fungi and material. One sampling method used a nonpolar solid adsorbant air sampler to concentrate and collect ambient levels of volatile organic compounds. A second method collected condensed organic compounds by allowing their natural accumulation on field exposed glass plates. The laboratory phase showed that monoterpenes influence both the growth rate of fungi and their metabolic products. The study confirmed that biologically inert substrates form a life platform for the deposition of organic materials, the growth of microorganisms, and subsequent biodeterioration of the substrate.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1974
- Accession Number
- ADA005583
Entities
People
- J. F. Sprouse
- W. F. Lawson Iii