Sources of microbial pathogens in municipal solid waste landfills in the United States of America

Abstract

Municipal solid waste (MSW) categories, as specified by United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), were evaluated for their relative contribution of pathogenic viruses, bacteria, and protozoan parasites into MSW landfills from 1960 to 2007. The purpose of this study was to identify trends and quantify the potential contribution of pathogens in MSW as an aid to the assessment of potential public health risks. A review of the literature was conducted to estimate values for the concentrations of faecal indicator bacteria and pathogens in the major categories of MSW. The major sources of MSW contributing enteric pathogens were food waste, pet faeces, absorbent products, and biosolids. During the last 47 years, recycling of glass, metals, plastic, paper and some organic wastes in MSW has increased, resulting in a decreased proportion of these materials in the total landfilled MSW. The relative proportion of remaining waste materials has increased; several of these waste categories contain pathogens. For all potential sources, food waste contributes the greatest number of faecal coliforms (80.62%). The largest contribution of salmonellae (97.27%), human enteroviruses (94.88%) and protozoan parasites (97%) are expected to come from pet faeces. Biosolids from wastewater treatment sludge contribute the greatest number of human noroviruses (99.94%). By comparison, absorbent hygiene products do not appear to contribute significantly to overall pathogen loading for any group of pathogens. This is largely due to the relatively low volume of these pathogen sources in MSW, compared, for example, with food waste at almost 40% of total MSW.

Enteric Protozoa in the Developed World: a Public Health Perspective

“…The majority of protozoan parasites (97%) are expected to come from pet feces; however, the evidence suggests that enteric protozoa would be expected to be inactivated by temperatures above 45°C and that most landfills achieve temperatures of 38°C to 78°C (143). There is still much uncertainty about the survival of enteric protozoa in leachate from unlined landfills and the resultant contamination of underground aquifers and the water supply.…”

“…There is still much uncertainty about the survival of enteric protozoa in leachate from unlined landfills and the resultant contamination of underground aquifers and the water supply. One of the most recent studies to evaluate this found the presence of viable Giardia in large concentrations in leachate (143).…”

“…Biosolids generated at wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), along with food waste, pet excrement (i.e., dog and cat feces), and human excrement in absorbent products (e.g., disposable baby napkins for children and adults and feminine hygiene products), are considered a potential source of infectious microorganisms in municipal solid waste (MSW) (143). The majority of protozoan parasites (97%) are expected to come from pet feces; however, the evidence suggests that enteric protozoa would be expected to be inactivated by temperatures above 45°C and that most landfills achieve temperatures of 38°C to 78°C (143).…”

Bioaerosols and Health: Current Knowledge and Gaps in the Field of Waste Management

“…they are not infectious for healthy people. However, a few are real pathogens, such as Legionella species (Conza et al, 2013;Currie et al, 2014) or enteric pathogens in pet excrements and disposable diapers (Gerba et al, 1995(Gerba et al, , 2011. Some airborne microorganisms (mainly fungi, such as Aspergillus fumigatus and Zygomycetes species) may act as opportunists in fragile people, that are immunocompromised or present lung damages often associated with prescription of steroids (Cornillet et al, 2006;Latgé, 1999;Roden et al, 2005).…”

Remoção de cistos <i>Giardia</i> spp. e oocistos de <i>Cryptosporidium</i> spp. em sistemas de tratamento combinado (anaeróbio/físico-químico) de água residuária

“…Graczyk et al (2008) e Cheng et al (2009) relataram, respectivamente, 27 e 9 cistos de Giardia por grama de lodo. Gerba et al (2011) relataram variação no número de cistos de 10 a 1000 cistos por grama.…”