Bacteria and fungi in aerosols generated by two different types of wastewater treatment plants

Bauer, Heidi; Fuerhacker, Maria; Zibuschka, F.; Schmid, Heidrun; Puxbaum, Hans

doi:10.1016/s0043-1354(02)00121-5

Cited by 111 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Wlazło et al (2002) studied distribution of the exposure to airborne bacteria inside the small wastewater treatment plant in Myszków, Poland, obtaining the concentration level of total bacteria between 10 2 and 10 3 CFU/m 3 and indicated that the highest level was near the aeration basin. Bauer et al (2002) also found in wastewater treatment plants in Austria (where the averaged concentrations of mesophilic bacteria and fungi were 1.7 9 10 4 and 1.7 9 10 3 CFU/m 3 , respectively) the highest exposure to bacterial and fungal aerosols during aeration. Korzeniewska et al (2009) studied emission of airborne microorganisms from WWTP with bioreactor ''BIO-PAK'' found that the highest concentrations of bacteria (10 1 -10 3 CFU/m 3 ) and fungi (10 4 CFU/ m 3 ) were determined in air sampled inside the bioreactor, in its vicinity, and near the great chamber.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…Also the type of wastewater treatment plant determines the amount of bioaerosol emission. Results obtained by Bauer et al (2002) indicated that more bacteria and fungi are emitted by the aeration tank of activated sludge plant than from fixed-film bioreactor. Experiment concerning investigation of bioaerosols emitted in WWTP in Beijing, China, revealed that there are differences in concentration levels between particular stages of treatment plant (near sludge thickening basin detected highest level of culturable bacterial and fungal aerosols).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characteristics of airborne bacteria and fungi in some Polish wastewater treatment plants

Kowalski

Wolany

Pastuszka

et al. 2017

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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The aim of this study was to characterize both the viable airborne bacteria and fungi collected in different types of wastewater treatment plants in Poland. Bacterial and fungal aerosols in five different wastewater treatment plants in Poland were studied, including the pioneering antibiotic resistance testing of airborne bacteria. Concentration level was measured using the six-stage Andersen impactor. After incubation, bioaerosol particles captured on nutrient media on Petri dishes were quantitatively evaluated and qualitatively identified. It was found that the concentration levels of both airborne bacteria and fungi ranged from 10 2 to 10 3 colony-forming units/m 3 , in all stages of the wastewater treatment plants. The patterns of size distributions of airborne bacteria and fungi were very similar, showing dominant peaks typically in the size range between 3.3 and 4.7 lm. The majority fraction of small bacterial and fungal particles (less than 4.7 lm) in the studied areas indicates that the bioaerosol is relatively fresh, and mostly of local origin. The Gram-positive cocci and nonsporing Gram-positive rods were the dominating forms in the studied wastewater treatment plants environment. The existing differences in the concentration levels between sampling sites enabled identification of the main bioaerosol sources. The highest concentration of bacterial aerosol appeared in sections, where activated sludge postprocessing and mechanical purifying are conducted. The most frequently occurring species in the sampled bacterial aerosol were Gram-positive cocci and nonsporing Grampositive rods. Multi-antibiotic resistance testing showed that among the isolated airborne bacteria, the most antibiotic-resistant features were present among Bacillus species (especially Bacillus mycoides).

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 63%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of airborne bacteria and fungi in some Polish wastewater treatment plants

Kowalski

Wolany

Pastuszka

et al. 2017

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…While other studies have reported concentrations of airborne bacteria around WWTPs, 24,27,30,32 fewer have focused on airborne viruses. 34,40 Our results show that viable virus can be aerosolized from an aeration basin.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…22 Bacterial and fungi, including pathogenic ones, have been detected in the surrounding air, [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] demonstrating that wastewater treatment processes have the potential to generate bioaerosols. However, few studies have focused on aerosolization of viruses in wastewater systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…23 The effects of matrices and environmental conditions on the stability of EBOV in sewage were also noticeable. 24 A study investigating the partitioning of EBOV surrogates among liquid, biosolids, and four different material surfaces commonly used in wastewater systems found that at least 94% of virions partitioned into the liquid fraction (Titcombe Lee et al 2016). Thus, the virus would maintain its mobility in wastewater systems.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Aerosolization of Ebola Virus Surrogates in Wastewater Systems

Lin

Marr

2017

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Academic AbstractRecent studies have shown that Ebola virus can persist in wastewater, and the potential for the virus to be aerosolized and pose a risk of inhalation exposure has not been evaluated.We considered this risk for three wastewater systems: toilets, a lab-scale model of an aeration basin, and a lab-scale model of converging sewer pipes. We measured the aeroso l size distribution generated by each system, spiked Ebola virus surrogates into each system, and determined the emission rate of viruses into the air. While the number of aerosols released ranged from 10 5 to 10 7 per flush from the toilets or per minute from the lab-scale models, the total volume of aerosols generated by these systems was ~10 -8 to 10 -7 mL per flush or per minute in all cases. The Ebola virus surrogates MS2 and Phi6, spiked into toilets at an initial concentration of 10 7 PFU mL -1 , were not detected in air after flushing.Airborne concentrations of MS2 and Phi6 were ~20 PFU L -1 and ~0.1 PFU L -1 , respectively, associated with the aeration basin and sewer models. This corresponds to emission rates of 547 PFU min -1 and 3.8 PFU min -1 of MS2 and Phi6, respectively, for the aeration basin and 79 PFU min -1 and 0.3 PFU min -1 for the sewer model. Since informa tio n on the aerosolization of Ebola virus is quite limited, these emission rates can greatly help inform risk assessment of inhalation exposure to Ebola virus.iii

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