Abstract
The level of airborne bacterial contamination aboard two U. S. Navy ships (destroyer class) was evaluated. A recently modernized destroyer (USS Southerland DD-743) and a similar ship with a special protective ventilation system (USS Herbert J. Thomas DD-833) were examined. Under the conditions of the tests, the concentration of airborne bacteria (predominantly saprophytic) was similar in the occupied spaces of both ships and was of low level. With respect to air sanitation, this limited study showed a positive personnel concentration-bacterial concentration relationship. Bacterial aerosols originated from within the ship. The special ventilation system on the USS Thomas provided an interior air environment with bacterial levels somewhat less than those found on the sister ship and comparable with clean air environments, as found in outdoor rural areas or well-cleaned indoor areas.