Assessing airborne biological hazard from urban wastewater treatment

Carducci, Annalaura; Tozzi, E; Rubulotta, E; Casini, Beatrice; Cantiani, L; Rovini, E; Muscillo, Michele; Pacini, Roberta

doi:10.1016/s0043-1354(99)00264-x

Cited by 85 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Many studies have evaluated the biological risks of aerosols by determining the concentrations of viable microorganisms, using different sampling and detection methods (Fannin et al, 1985;Carducci et al, 2000;Bauera et al, 2002;Pascual et al, 2003;Karra and Katsivela, 2007;Stellacci et al, 2010). Previous reports of municipal WWTP bioaerosols have shown that high levels of culturable airborne bacteria and fungi were present in the indoor facilities and the aeration system (Brandi et al, 2000;Sánchez-Monedero et al, 2008;Li et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research has investigated the concentrations, particle size distributions, and species diversity of airborne microorganisms at different stages in WWTPs (Fannin et al, 1985;Buttner et al, 2001;Pillai and Ricke, 2002;Grisoli et al, 2009), and their hazards have also been identified (Palmer et al, 1995;Carducci et al, 2000). However, little is known regarding the characteristics, e.g., particle size characteristics and microbial population structure, of airborne bioaerosols removed from the air by ventilation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reduction and characterization of bioaerosols in a wastewater treatment station via ventilation

Guo

Ding

et al. 2014

Journal of Environmental Sciences

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Bioaerosols from wastewater treatment processes are a significant subgroup of atmospheric aerosols. In the present study, airborne microorganisms generated from a wastewater treatment station (WWTS) that uses an oxidation ditch process were diminished by ventilation.Conventional sampling and detection methods combined with cloning/sequencing techniques were applied to determine the groups, concentrations, size distributions, and species diversity of airborne microorganisms before and after ventilation. There were 3021 ± 537 CFU/m 3 of airborne bacteria and 926 ± 132 CFU/m 3 of airborne fungi present in the WWTS bioaerosol.Results showed that the ventilation reduced airborne microorganisms significantly compared to the air in the WWTS. Over 60% of airborne bacteria and airborne fungi could be reduced after 4 hr of air exchange. The highest removal (92.1% for airborne bacteria and 89.1% for fungi) was achieved for 0.65-1.1 μm sized particles. The bioaerosol particles over 4.7 μm were also reduced effectively. Large particles tended to be lost by gravitational settling and small particles were generally carried away, which led to the relatively easy reduction of bioaerosol particles 0.65-1.1 μm and over 4.7 μm in size. An obvious variation occurred in the structure of the bacterial communities when ventilation was applied to control the airborne microorganisms in enclosed spaces.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduction and characterization of bioaerosols in a wastewater treatment station via ventilation

Guo

Ding

et al. 2014

Journal of Environmental Sciences

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“…They are correlated closely with air pollution and cause adverse health effects on workers (Fracchia et al, 2006). Many studies have been carried out to evaluate the biological risks of aerosols by determining the concentrations of viable microorganisms, using different sampling and detection methods (Fanni et al, 1985;Carducci et al, 2000;Brandi et al, 2000;Bauer et al, 2002;Pascual et al, 2003;Karra and Katsivela, 2007). In our previous investigation, bioaerosol samples were collected at a Beijing municipal wastewater treatment plant with orbal oxidation ditch.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Removal of airborne microorganisms emitted from a wastewater treatment oxidation ditch by adsorption on activated carbon

Gao

Liu

et al. 2011

Journal of Environmental Sciences

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Bioaerosol emissions from wastewater and wastewater treatment processes are a significant subgroup of atmospheric aerosols. Most previous work has focused on the evaluation of their biological risks. In this study, however, the adsorption method was applied to reduce airborne microorganisms generated from a pilot scale wastewater treatment facility with oxidation ditch. Results showed adsorption on granule activated carbon (GAC) was an efficient method for the purification of airborne microorganisms. The GAC itself had a maximum adsorption capacity of 2217 CFU/g for airborne bacteria and 225 CFU/g for fungi with a flow rate of 1.50 m 3 /hr. Over 85% of airborne bacteria and fungi emitted from the oxidation ditch were adsorbed within 80 hr of continuous operation mode. Most of them had a particle size of 0.65-4.7 μm. Those airborne microorganisms with small particle size were apt to be adsorbed. The SEM/EDAX, BET and Boehm's titration methods were applied to analyse the physicochemical characteristics of the GAC. Relationships between GAC surface characteristics and its adsorption performance demonstrated that porous structure, large surface area, and hydrophobicity rendered GAC an effective absorber of airborne microorganisms. Two regenerate methods, ultraviolet irradiation and high pressure vapor, were compared for the regeneration of used activated carbon. High pressure vapor was an effective technique as it totally destroyed the microorganisms adhered to the activated carbon. Microscopic observation was also carried out to investigate original and used adsorbents.

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“…The transfer of microorganisms from the water to the air occurs mainly during aeration, and the mechanical agitation of water will accelerate this transformation (Fannin et al 1985;Carducci et al 2000;Sánchez-Monedero et al 2008). Rotating brushes were used for aeration in the oxidation ditch to provide linear liquid motion and aerate wastewater by revolving a number of paddles mounted on a large diameter horizontal shaft.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research has investigated the concentrations, particle size distributions, and species diversity of airborne microorganisms at different stages in WWTPs by using different sampling and detection methods (Fannin et al 1985;Buttner et al 2001;Pillai and Ricke 2002;Grisoli et al 2009). Major advances have been made in the understanding of bioaerosol characteristics and in identifying their hazards (Palmer et al 1995;Carducci et al 2000). These studies were based on culture-dependent methods, however, which do not necessarily reflect the real microflora in bioaerosol samples because only a small proportion (less than 10 %) of all microorganisms can be cultivated (Amann et al 1995), especially in the atmospheric environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial structure and chemical components of aerosols caused by rotating brushes in a wastewater treatment plant

Han

Liu

et al. 2012

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Purpose Bacterial community structure and the chemical components in aerosols caused by rotating brushes in an Orbal oxidation ditch were assessed in a Beijing municipal wastewater treatment plant. Methods Air samples were collected at different distances from the aerosol-generating rotating brushes. Molecular culture-independent methods were used to characterize the community structure of the airborne bacteria in each sample regardless of cell culturability. A clone library of 16S rDNA directly amplified from air DNA of each sample was constructed and sequenced to analyze the community composition and diversity. Insoluble particles and water-soluble ions emitted with microorganisms in aerosols were analysis by a scanning electron microscope together with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and ion chromatogram analyzer. Results In total, most of the identified bacteria were Proteobacteria. The majority of sequences near the rotating brushes (the main source of the bioaerosols) were Proteobacteria (62.97 %) with β-(18.52 %) and γ-(44.45 %) subgroups and Bacteroidetes (29.63 %). Complex patterns were observed for each sampling location, suggesting a highly diverse community structure, comparable to that found in water in the Orbal oxidation ditch. of Mg, Cl, K, Na, Fe, S, and P were detected from the air near the aerosols source.Conclusions Differences in the structure of the bacterial communities and chemical components in the aerosols observed between sampling sites indicated important siterelated variability. The composition of microorganisms in water was one of the most important sources of bacterial communities in bioaerosols. Chemical components in bioaerosols may provide a media for airborne microorganism attachment, as well as a suitable microenvironment for their growth and survival in the air. This study will be benefit for the formulation of pollution standards, especially for aerosols, that take into account plant workers' health.

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Assessing airborne biological hazard from urban wastewater treatment

Cited by 85 publications

References 10 publications

Reduction and characterization of bioaerosols in a wastewater treatment station via ventilation

Reduction and characterization of bioaerosols in a wastewater treatment station via ventilation

Removal of airborne microorganisms emitted from a wastewater treatment oxidation ditch by adsorption on activated carbon

Microbial structure and chemical components of aerosols caused by rotating brushes in a wastewater treatment plant

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