Numbers of saprophytic bacteria were determined by the plate count in samples obtained at 45 oceanographic stations, from six standard depths between 10 and 150 m. Depending on the sampling place, the numbers of bacteria fluctuated between 0.8 x 102 to 4.3 x l 04 x 1-1 and 1.2 x l07 to 1.3 x 108, in a water column under 1 m2 sea surface. Most of saprophytic bacteria were observed at stations located south and south-east of the King George Island, and also north and north-west of the Anvers Island. Fewer numbers were found in areas of large krill swarms in the Bransfield Strait, between 58°30' and 62°30' W, and in the north-western part of the research area, far away from the South Shetland Islands.

53 soil samples collected in the Bellsund Region in Western Spitsbergen were examined. An acid-resistant strain difficult to identify was isolated and recognized as Mycobacterium friburgensis. 54.7% of isolated strains were acid-resistant and growing at 25˚C only. They were microorganisms at borderline of Mycobacteria and Actinomycetes. Other microorganisms isolated in the studied soil samples were bacilli (55.7%) and coccaceae (15.4%).

The aim of this research was to evaluate the microbiological indoor air contamination level in chosen facilities of the primary health-care for adults and children. The total numbers of mesophilic bacteria, staphylococci, coli-group bacteria and moulds in both surgery rooms and patients’ waiting rooms were determined. Air samples were collected with a MAS 100 impactor and the concentration of microorganisms was estimated by a culture method. The microbiological air contamination level was diverse: the number of mesophilic bacteria ranged from 320 to 560 CFU/m3, number of staphylococci - 10-305 CFU/m3, coli group bacteria - 0-15 CFU/m3 and moulds - 15-35 CFU/m3. The bacteriological contamination level of the air in examined community health centers was higher than described in the literature for hospitals and exceeded the acceptable values proposed for the surgery objects.

Water is a strategic material. Recycling is an important component of balancing its use. Deep-bed filtration is an inexpensive purification method and seems to be very effective in spreading water recovery. Good filter designs, such as the fibrous filter, have high separation efficiency, low resistance for the up-flowing fluid and high retention capacity. However, one of the substantial problems of this process is the biofouling of the filter. Biofouling causes clogging and greatly reduces the life of the filter. Therefore, the melt-blown technique was used for the formation of novel antibacterial fibrous filters. Such filters are made of polypropylene composites with zinc oxide and silver nanoparticles on the fiber surface. These components act as inhibitors of bacterial growth in the filter and were tested in laboratory and full scale experiments. Antibacterial/bacteriostatic tests were performed on Petri dishes with E. coli and B. subtilis. Full scale experiments were performed on natural river water, which contained abiotic particles and mutualistic bacteria. The filter performance at industrial scale conditions was measured using a particle counter, a flow cytometer and a confocal microscope. The results of the experiments indicate a significant improvement of the composite filter performance compared to the regular fibrous filter. The differences were mostly due to a reduction in the biofouling effect.