Comparison of wastewater treatment plants based on the emissions of microbiological contaminants

Abstract

This article presents the current and important results of bioaerosol studies which allow for the comparison of microbial contamination of air in 11 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), which differed in terms of capacity from 350 to 200,000 m3/day. The abundance of mesophilic bacteria, M+ and M− Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Actinobacteria, coliform and psychrophilic bacteria, and microscopic fungi was determined. Additionally, the air temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, and direction were also analyzed at each research station. The obtained very numerous results of bioaerosol and climate parameter studies were subjected to statistical analysis. The results regarding the minimum, maximum, and median abundance of the studied bacteria and microscopic fungi at 11 WWTPs and in background studies at control stations were presented in tables. Additionally, basic descriptive statistics for all studied microorganisms at specific seasons were presented. It was established that at the areas of WWTPs, the microscopic fungi were present that the highest concentrations (ranging from 0 to 1,148,530 CFU m−3), followed by psychrophilic bacteria (ranging from 40 to 225,000 CFU m−3) and mesophilic bacteria (ranging from 0 to 195,000 CFU m−3). The novel elaboration of bioaerosol study results based on cluster analysis and determination of a dendrogram allowed to compare the studied WWTPs. The similarity was decided based on the type of studied microorganisms and their dominance and abundance, while no similarities were observed in terms of capacity. In order to investigate the relation between the abundance of bacterial groups as well as microscopic fungi and microclimatic parameters (air temperature and humidity), a calculation of Spearman’s range correlation coefficients was conducted.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10661-018-7035-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Microbiology Community Structure in Bioaerosols and the Respiratory Diseases

“…For the exploration in hospitals, bacterial bioaerosol concentrations were higher at larger than those of fungi according to the result analyzing the air samples of different types of wards and operating theaters in hospital [16]. wastewater treatment plants revealed that the microscopic fungi accounted for the largest percentage followed by psychrophilic bacteria and mesophilic bacteria [20]. Interestingly, the study comparing the assemblage of fungal communities in units with visible mold and no visible mold found that the diversity of fungi in units with visible mold was less abundant as it was occupied with the classes Eurotiomycetes, Saccharomycetes, and Wallemiomycetes.…”

Identification of airborne fungi’s concentrations in indoor and outdoor air of municipal wastewater treatment plant

“…Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was performed to determine the normality of the data (14). Also, the Kruskal-Wallis test was employed to compare the mean concentration of fungi among the units during the study (35). Spearman correlation coefficient was used to find the correlation between fungal and meteorological parameters.…”

Airborne Bacteria from Wastewater Treatment and their Antibiotic Resistance: A Meta-Analysis

“…As mentioned above, bacteria are one of the most studied bioaerosol components, showing average concentrations of 10 2 to 10 6 cells per cubic meter of air and with very high taxonomic diversity (Katsivela et al, 2017). In the air samples obtained in WWTP facilities, 25 species of Enterobacteriaceae were isolated, including the pathogenic bacteria Salmonella spp., Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli (Michałkiewicz, 2018). Therefore, exposure to wastewater can cause illnesses such as gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory problems, skin disorders, fever, eye irritation, headaches, nausea, and fatigue (Manaia et al, 2018).…”