Journal of Applied Microbiology 2000, 88, 845ÿ852

Evaluation of the environmental impact of microbial aerosols

generated by wastewater treatment plants utilizing different
aeration systems
G. Brandi, M. Sisti and G. Amagliani
Institute of Toxicologic, Hygienic and Environmental Science, University of Urbino, Urbino, Italy

18/10/99: received 20 October 1999, revised 23 December 1999 and accepted 4 January 2000

Using three sampler devices (SAS, Andersen

G . B R A N D I , M . S I S T I A N D G . A M A G L I A N I . 2000.
Six-Stages and All Glass Impinger), the environmental impact of bacterial and fungal
aerosols generated by municipal wastewater treatment plants operating with different
methods of sludge oxygenation were evaluated. The highest microbial concentrations were
recovered above the tanks (2247 cfu mÿ3) and in downwind positions (1425 cfu mÿ3),
where a linear correlation (P < 0
05) was found between the quantity of sewage treated and
the entities of microbial aerosol dispersion. Moreover, an exponential increase (P < 0
05) in
the bacteria recovered from the air occurred at increasing times of treatment. However,
after long-term plant operation, high bacterial and fungal concentrations were found in
almost all of the sites around the plant. Coliforms, enterococci, Escherichia coli and
staphylococci were almost always recovered in downwind positions. Considerable fractions
(20±40%) of sampled bacteria were able to penetrate the ®nal stages of the Andersen
apparatus and thus, are likely to be able to penetrate the lungs. The plant operating with a
®ne bubble diffused air system instead was found to generate rather low concentrations of
bacteria and fungi; moreover, staphylococci and indicator micro-organisms were almost
absent. Finally, salmonellae, Shigella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aeromonas spp. were not
detected in either of the plants. The results indicate a remarkable dispersion of airborne
bacteria and fungi from tanks in which oxygen is supplied via a mechanical agitation of
sludge, and suggest the need to convert them to diffused aeration systems which pose a
lesser hazard for human health.

INTRODUCTION hazardous for exposed subjects, ®rstly for plant workers as

a consequence of direct contact with the contaminated
Aerosols containing micro-organisms may be generated
materials/substrates or by inhalation of aerosolized micro-
through natural processes and by human activity. It has
organisms. Moreover, a potential risk for visitors to the
been reported that aerosols are capable of transporting
plants and for the surrounding population cannot be
micro-organisms over long distances (Bovallius et al. 1978)
excluded. Various potentially infectious agents have fre-
and, depending on the source, that they may be able to
quently been recovered from the air around wastewater
produce infections (Fraser 1980; Sattar and Ijaz 1987),
plants (Hickey and Parker 1975; Millner et al. 1980;
asthmatic problems (Gravesen 1979) and other health
Fannin et al. 1985) and a high prevalence of antibodies
effects (Jacobs 1989; Burrel 1990) in susceptible subjects.
against several enteric viruses has been found in exposed
The aeration tanks of wastewater treatment plants are
subjects (Clark 1981a; Heng et al. 1994), although this is
recognized as important sources of microbial aerosols
not necessarily related to aerosols. Clear evidence of the
(Napolitano and Rowe 1966; Kenline and Scarpino 1972;
adverse health effects caused by exposure to micro-organ-
Cannon 1983; Fannin et al. 1985) and therefore might be
ism-containing aerosols, however, has not yet been pre-
sented in a satisfactory manner (Clark et al. 1981b; Stener
Correspondence to: G. Brandi, Istituto di Scienze Tossicologiche Igienistiche e
1986; Maguire 1993), and as far as is known, outbreaks due
Ambientali, UniversitaÁ di Urbino, Via S. Chiara, 27, 61029 Urbino (PU) to aerosols generated during the wastewater treatment pro-
Italy (e-mail: [email protected]). cess have never been reported. Furthermore, the health
= 2000 The Society for Applied Microbiology
846 G . B R A N D I E T A L .

risks for populations living near wastewater treatment diameters that range from 1
81 mm in the ®rst stage to
plants remain poorly investigated. The aim of the present 0
25 mm in the sixth stage. Aerosol samples were collected
study was to obtain more information about the environ- 1
5 m above and 2 m downwind of the aeration tanks. The
mental microbial dispersion from wastewater treatment sampling time was 20 min, with a constant sampling ¯ow
plants by evaluating the densities and types of airborne rate of 28
5 l minÿ1. The sampler was used to evaluate the
bacteria and fungi recovered in the vicinity of the aerated total bacterial count.
tanks. For this purpose, two different plants were selected. The All Glass Millipore Impinger (hereafter Impinger)
The ®rst is operative only in the summer and uses a containing appropriate enrichment broth medium was posi-
mechanical agitation for the aeration of the settled sewage. tioned 2 m downwind from the tanks. The sampling time
The other is operative year-round and the oxygen for sew- was 30 min with a ¯ow ratio of 12
5 l minÿ1. This sampler
age aeration is supplied via a ®ne bubble diffused air sys- was used to collect salmonellae, Shigella, Aeromonas spp.
tem. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
All collected samples were transported to the laboratory
within 3±4 h of sampling and were incubated at 37  C for
MATERIALS AND METHODS bacterial counts, at 20  C for fungal counts and at 45  C for
Wastewater treatment plants E. coli counts. The results are expressed as the number of
colony-forming units per cubic metre (cfu mÿ3) of air.
Two wastewater treatment plants located along the north- At the same time as aerosol sampling, the temperature
west Adriatic coast were studied. The ®rst (hereafter and relative humidity were monitored, using an aspirated
referred to as Plant A) is operative only in the summer and psychrometer, and wind speed, by an anemometer.
receives 7500 mÿ3 dÿ1 of wastewater during its peak of
activity, equivalent to about 30 000 inhabitants. This plant
uses a mechanical aeration of settled sewage (activated Culture media
sludge process). The second plant (Plant B) operates con- The solid culture media were tryptic glucose yeast agar
tinuously throughout the year and treats 15 500 mÿ3 dÿ1 of (Oxoid) for total bacterial counts, Sabouraud dextrose agar
sewage in winter, 16 000 mÿ3 dÿ1 in spring and 22 000 mÿ3 (Oxoid) for total fungal counts, violet red bile lactose agar
dÿ1 in summer, corresponding to the equivalent of about (Oxoid) for total coliforms and E. coli, Bacto m. enterococ-
62 000, 64 000 and 88 000 inhabitants served, respectively. cus agar (Difco) for enterococci, mannitol salt agar (Oxoid)
The oxygen in the tanks is supplied by a ®ne bubble dif- for staphylococci (colonies grown in this agar were pro-
fused air system. cessed for the coagulase test using the Staphytect plus,
The sampling of aerosols was carried out near the waste- Oxoid), SS agar modi®ed (Oxoid) for salmonellae and
water aeration tanks as follows: in summer at different peri- Shigella, m-Aeromonas selective agar (Biolife) for
ods before and after start-up of the process in Plant A; and Aeromonas, and pseudomonas CN medium (Oxoid) for Ps.
in winter, spring and summer in Plant B. aeruginosa. The liquid enrichment media used for Impinger
were selenite cystine broth (Oxoid) for salmonellae and
Shigella, nutrient broth (Oxoid) for Ps. aeruginosa and alka-
Air samplers and micro-organisms assayed
line peptonate water for Aeromonas.
Three different samplers were employed for the detection
and enumeration of aerosolized micro-organisms. The SAS
Statistical analyses
(Surface Air System) impactor aspirates air at a ®xed speed
(180 l minÿ1) for a variable time onto a 55 mm contact A linear and exponential regression (both evaluated by
plate ®lled with appropriate agar medium. All aerosol sam- ANOVA) and a Spearman rank correlation were used.
ples were collected after determination of the wind direc-
tion; the sites were at a distance of 2 m upwind, 2, 10
(Plant B) and 20 (Plant A) m downwind, and 2 m laterally,
RESULTS
with respect to wind direction. The sampling time used
varied from 30 s to 2 min, depending on the supposed The results on airborne bacteria and fungi recovered from
microbial concentration in the air. The micro-organisms Plant A are shown in Fig. 1. Before the plant was started
sampled were total bacteria and fungi, total coliforms, up (Period A), the concentrations of total bacteria and
enterococci, Escherichia coli and staphylococci. fungi was found to be very low in all ®ve positions selected.
The Andersen Six-Stage Viable Particle Sampler (here- Enterococci were not detected while coliforms and staphy-
after Andersen) contained six Petri dishes ®lled with an lococci were only rarely recovered during sampling. After
appropriate agar medium. Each stage has 400 holes with plant operation commenced (Periods B±E), a progressive
= 2000 The Society for Applied Microbiology, Journal of Applied Microbiology, 88, 845ÿ852
 MICROBIAL AEROSOL FROM AERATION TANKS 847

(a) (b)
640 1250

1000
480

750
cfu m–3

cfu m–3
320
500

160
250

0 0
A B C D E A B C D E
Periods Periods
(c) (d)
200 40

150 30
cfu m–3

cfu m–3

100 20

50 10

0 0
A B C D E A B C D E
Periods Periods
(e) (f)
60 60

45 45
cfu m–3

cfu m–3

30 30

15 15

0 0
A B C D E A B C D E
Periods Periods

Fig. 1 Total bacterial and fungal counts, coliforms, enterococci, Escherichia coli and staphylococci recovered from Plant A. All the values
represent the mean of three separate air samplings performed with the SAS instrument and are expressed as cfu mÿ3. Positions:
1 (&) ˆ2 m upwind, 2 (Q) and 3 (R) ˆ 2 m, respectively, on the right and on the left with respect to the wind direction, 4 (W) and
5 ( & ) ˆ 2 and 20 m downwind, respectively. Periods: before (A) and 1 (B), 3 (C), 12 (D) and 25 (E) days after plant activity was started.
(a) Total bacterial count; (b) total fungal count; (c) total coliforms; (d) enterococci; (e) Escherichia coli; (f) staphylococci

increase in the presence of aerosolized micro-organisms (P < 0
05) between the total viable bacterial and fungal
was found. The highest concentrations were recovered at counts obtained and the corresponding quantity of sewage
the sites 2 m (Position 4) and 20 m (Position 5) downwind. being treated (Fig. 2). From analysis of panels (a) and (b)
Furthermore, analyses of data obtained in the downwind in Fig. 1, it can be seen that the greatest concentrations of
positions showed a statistically signi®cant correlation bacteria and fungi were found about 4 weeks after the start
= 2000 The Society for Applied Microbiology, Journal of Applied Microbiology, 88, 845ÿ852
848 G . B R A N D I E T A L .

(a) (b)
600
600

500 500

400 400
R = 0·91233 R = 0·98155
P = 0·03075 P = 0·003
cfu m–3

cfu m–3
300 300

200 200

100 100

0 0

0 2000 4000 6000 8000 0 2000 4000 6000 8000

–3 –1 –3 –1
Sewage treated (m d ) Sewage treated (m d )

(c) (d)
1200 1200

1000
1000

R = 0·89822 800 R = 0·96533

800 P = 0·03838 P = 0·00771
cfu m–3

cfu m–3

600
600

400

200

200

200

0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 0 2000 4000 6000 8000
–3 –1
Sewage treated (m d ) Sewage treated (m–3 d–1)

Fig. 2 Correlation between the concentrations of airborne bacteria [(a) and (b)] and fungi [(c) and (d)] and the amount of sewage treated.
Air was sampled with the SAS at 2 m [(a) and (c)] or 20 m downwind [(b) (d)] of Plant A
= 2000 The Society for Applied Microbiology, Journal of Applied Microbiology, 88, 845ÿ852
 MICROBIAL AEROSOL FROM AERATION TANKS 849

of the process (Period E), corresponding to maximum Andersen sampler (Table 1) at the same time at 2 m down-
activity of the plant (7500 mÿ3 dÿ1 sewage treated). Total wind, it is of note that the bacterial counts were higher by
bacterial counts ranged from 444 cfu mÿ3 laterally with Andersen sampling, suggesting that this device is more ef®-
respect to the tanks, to 560 cfu mÿ3 downwind, while fun- cient in collecting viable bacteria. As shown in Table 1, the
gal concentrations ranged from 660 to 1110 cfu mÿ3 in the percentage of bacteria able to reach the 5th and 6th stages
same positions. It is interesting to note that with increasing of the Andersen apparatus ranged from about 20 to 40% of
time from the start-up of activity, microbial aerosol disper- the total bacteria sampled, and these percentages were not
sion appeared to become more uniformly distributed correlated (P ˆ 0
39, Spearman rank correlation test) with
around the tanks. Total coliforms and enterococci showed the amount of total bacteria sampled.
a similar pattern, although to a different degree, of total All the sampling performed with the Impinger device in
bacterial and fungi aerodispersion, while E. coli was recov- Plant A gave negative results for isolation of salmonellae,
ered only in Periods C±E. Staphylococci were constantly Shigella, Ps. aeruginosa and Aeromonas spp. Sampling (250 l
recovered at the downwind positions in concentrations that of air each time) was repeated three times for each period
increased, as it did for the other species of bacteria, with at 2 m from the tanks in the downwind position.
the time that the plant had been running; 16±40% of colo- In Plant B, which uses a ®ne bubble diffused air acti-
nies were identi®ed as staphylococci coagulase ‡ and there- vated sludge process and is continuously operative, the
fore were probably Staph. aureus. Finally, temperature aerosols were sampled with SAS at 2 m upwind, and 2 m
(ranging from 24 to 27  C), humidity (from 53 to 77%) and and 10 m downwind, in winter, spring and summer. As
wind speed (from 1
5 to 4 m sÿ1), were shown to be quite shown in Table 2, the concentrations of both total bacteria
similar during the different periods of sampling. and fungi, and of the various bacterial species studied,
A second set of experiments was performed with the were markedly lower or absent compared with those recov-
Andersen apparatus above the platforms and at 2 m down- ered in the same positions at Plant A. As for Plant A, the
wind from the tanks of Plant A. As shown in Table 1, the highest concentrations of bacteria and fungi were collected
concentration of total bacteria in the aerosols was already at the site 2 m downwind from the tanks, i.e., 298 and 222
high, especially on the platforms, just a few days after the cfu mÿ3 bacteria, and 147 and 190 cfu mÿ3 fungi, in winter
process had started. Using an exponential regression ‡ and summer, respectively. Escherichia coli, total coliforms
ANOVA test, it was observed that there was an exponential and enterococci were not detected, with the exception of
increase in the cfu mÿ3 with time, both above the tank (P coliforms found 10 m downwind in winter, and one occa-
ˆ 0
019) and 2 m downwind (P ˆ 0
01). When the same sion when enterococci were found 2 m downwind in spring.
test was applied taking into account the quantities of sew- Staphylococci were only recovered downwind and in low
age treated rather than time, the results were not signi®cant numbers. The lower airborne bacterial concentrations near
(P > 0
05). The same result was also obtained with the Plant B were also con®rmed using the Andersen sampler
SAS data (P ˆ 0
009) in the 2 m downwind position. This (not shown).
would suggest the importance of time in determining the As in the case of Plant A, salmonellae, Shigella, Ps. aeru-
microbial aerosol concentration. Comparing the data ginosa and Aeromonas spp. were not recovered with the
obtained with SAS (Fig. 1) with those obtained with the Impinger.

Table 1 Total bacterial counts obtained sampling with the six-stage Andersen device above and 2 m downwind from Plant A before and
after the start-up of plant activity*

Above the tank 2 m downwind

Six stages 5th ‡ 6th stage Six stages 5th ‡ 6th stage

Period n n % n n %

Before 91 35 38
4 85 35 41
1

After 1 day 817 172 21
0 374 155 41
4
After 3 days 1489 494 33
1 657 155 23
6
After 12 days 2247 635 28
2 1425 405 28
4
After 25 days 1623 329 20
2 1081 378 34
9

*Results are expressed as cfu mÿ3 and represent the mean of three experiments that agreed within 15% of the reported values.

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850 G . B R A N D I E T A L .

Table 2 Mean micro-organisms concentrations recovered with the SAS in different seasons and sampling sites in Plant B*

Seasons

Micro-organisms Positions Winter Spring Summer

Total bacterial count 2 m upwind 8
9 5
5 66
6

2 m downwind 298
8 11
1 222
10 m downwind 170
5 11
1 105
4
Total fungal count 2 m upwind 27
5 38
8 92
2 m downwind 147
2 38
8 190
10 m downwind 62
3 38
8 106
Total coliforms 2 m upwind nd nd nd
2 m downwind nd nd nd
10 m downwind 1
3{ nd nd
Enterococci 2 m upwind nd nd nd
2 m downwind nd 2
7{ nd
10 m downwind nd nd nd
Escherichia coli 2 m upwind nd nd nd
2 m downwind nd nd nd
10 m downwind nd nd nd
Staphylococci 2 m upwind nd nd nd
2 m downwind 12
4 20
8 24
9
10 m downwind 6
9 8
3 11
1

*Results are expressed as cfu mÿ3 and represent the mean of three experiments that agreed within 15% of the reported values.
{Value of a single sampling.

Comparing the data obtained in Plant A with those for one plant was selected that uses mechanical agitation for
Plant B, it is clear that higher concentrations of aerosols aeration of the sludge and another in which the oxygen was
containing micro-organisms were generated from the tanks supplied with a ®ne bubble diffused air system.
of the ®rst plant, probably as a consequence of the mechan- Furthermore, as the former plant was operative only in the
ical aeration of the sludge. To test this hypothesis, the data summer, serving a mainly tourist population, it was possi-
obtained for Plant B in this study were compared with ble to distinguish the type and quantity of microbial pollu-
those obtained for the same plant in an earlier study tion due to the wastewater treatment from the microbial
(Brandi et al. 1993) when mechanical oxygenation was used background of the air in the speci®c area.
for the digestion process. As shown in Table 3, total bacter- From the data reported in this paper it is clear that the
ial and fungal counts, coliforms and staphylococci were type of aeration used in the activated sludge process mark-
recovered to a much greater extent at the same positions edly in¯uences the microbial content of the air around the
and seasons when the sludge was mechanically aerated. plant. Mechanical agitation of the sludge generates aerosols
with high concentrations of bacteria and fungi. It is inter-
esting to note that when the plant reached its peak of activ-
DISCUSSION
ity, high concentrations of airborne bacteria and fungi were
Airborne micro-organisms generated from wastewater seen as far as 20 m downwind of the tank and 2 m laterally
treatment plants may be a potential source of a wide variety with respect to the wind direction. This would suggest that
of health hazards (Hickey and Parker 1975). Therefore, to when the digestion process is fully operative, a potential
ensure the health of plant workers and local residents, it is risk for human health may exist at almost all the sites
also necessary to evaluate the presence and concentrations around the plant. Consistent with this supposition was the
of airborne micro-organisms in the proximity of the plants. presence of coagulase positive staphylococci and indicator
With this aim, a study was conducted to evaluate the dif- micro-organisms (coliforms, E. coli, enterococci) found
ferent factors in¯uencing the microbial concentrations of above all in the downwind positions.
aerosols liberated from the aeration tanks. In order to From a comparison of data obtained with the different
determine the importance of the oxygenation systems used, samplers, it is evident that the Andersen was more ef®cient
= 2000 The Society for Applied Microbiology, Journal of Applied Microbiology, 88, 845ÿ852
 MICROBIAL AEROSOL FROM AERATION TANKS 851

Table 3 In¯uence of the sludge oxygenation system on the dispersion of microbial aerosols from Plant B*

Season

Spring Summer

2m 10 m 2m 10 m

Mech{ Bubbl{ Mech Bubbl Mech Bubbl Mech Bubbl

Total bacterial count 483
3 11
1 274
9 11
1 1816
6 222
0 1383
3 105
4
Total fungal count 541
6 38
8 816
6 38
8 2900
0 190
0 5000
0 106
0
Staphylococci 25
9 20
8 25
0 8
3 100.0 24
9 183
3 11
1
Total coliforms 75
2 0 37
2 0 966
6 0 366
6 0
Escherichia coli 0 0 0 0 54
1 0 16
6 0

*Samplings were performed with SAS at downwind positions and are expressed as cfu mÿ3. The values referring to Bubbl. were obtained
in a previous study (Brandi et al. 1993) and represent the mean of three experiments for each season and sampling site that agreed within
15%.
{Aeration of the sludge: Mech ˆ mechanical agitation, Bubbl ˆ ®ne bubble diffused air.

than the SAS in collecting bacteria from the air. This dis- In view of the problem of bacterial damage due to agar
crepancy was not unexpected as both ®eld and laboratory impact and/or cellular dessication on the agar surface as a
studies have frequently reported considerable differences result of long exposure to air¯ow, it is thought that neither
among the density of collected micro-organisms measured the Andersen nor the SAS devices can be used ef®ciently
with different sampling devices (Jensen et al. 1992). for sampling bacterial species, such as pathogenic bacteria,
Furthermore, several factors can contribute to underesti- that may be present in very low concentrations in aerosols.
mation of the bacterial concentration in aerosols. First of Therefore, to overcome this limitation, a bioaerosol sampler
all, underestimation due to a colony masking effect (colony (Impinger) was selected which uses a liquid medium for
overlap) should be considered (Chang et al. 1994). micro-organism collection, although the device was still
Furthermore, during sampling, microbial damage may unable to recover salmonellae, Shigella, Aeromonas spp. and
occur due to the impact of the cells on the agar, affecting Ps. Aeruginosa.
the viability and culturability of collected micro-organisms An increasing number of reports have recognized the
presence of bacteria, including various human enteric
(Stewart et al. 1995). It is reasonable to assume that the
pathogens (e.g. Salmonella enteritidis, Shigella, enterotoxic
degree of microbial injury will increase with air¯ow speed.
E. coli, Vibrio cholerae) from several substrates in a viable
This would explain, at least in part, the lower cfu counts
but non-culturable state (Roszak et al. 1984; Islam et al.
obtained here with SAS, which samples airspeeds 6
3-fold
1993; Cappelier et al. 1999). The presence of viable but
higher than with the Andersen.
non-culturable pathogenic bacteria in aerosols should not
The aim of using the Andersen sampler, however, was be excluded.
also to obtain information on cell density and particle size In conclusion, wastewater treatment plants operating
(Andersen 1958). As this sampling device sizes the airborne with mechanical aeration have an environmental impact
particles by collecting them in different stages, it is possible that is clearly unfavourable, due to high dispersion around
to measure the fraction of respirable particles with the the tanks of aerosols containing micro-organisms. On the
potential to reach the alveoli. It was observed that this frac- contrary, aerobic digestion with a submerged microbubble
tion was already greater than 20% (median 30
7) of the col- system seems to pose little risk from airborne transmission
lected bacteria. However, the percentage of bacteria able to of pathogenic bacteria and fungi to waste-treatment work-
penetrate the lungs was not correlated with the degree of ers and local residents. For this reason, the conversion of
aerosol contamination. This would suggest that the risks mechanical oxygenation systems to submerged oxygenation
associated with exposure to aerosols could be closely related systems of the sludge should be considered.
not only to the density but also to the type of aerosolized Although it is dif®cult to evaluate the precise contribu-
particles. tion of microbial aerosols generated from tanks to human
= 2000 The Society for Applied Microbiology, Journal of Applied Microbiology, 88, 845ÿ852
852 G . B R A N D I E T A L .

illness, determination of the micro-organism content and Fraser, D.W. (1980) Legionellosis: evidence of airborne transmis-
presence of pathogenic species in air at the wastewater sion. Annals of the New York Academy of Science 353, 61±66.
treatment plant site may provide an insight into their Gravesen, S. (1979) Fungi as a cause of allergic disease. Allergy
potential adverse health effects. 34, 135±154.
Heng, B.H., Goh, K.T., Doraisingham, S. and Quek, G.H.
(1994) Prevalence of hepatitis A virus infection among sewage
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS workers in Singapore. Epidemiology and Infection 113, 121±128.
Hickey, J.L.S. and Parker, C.R. (1975) Health signi®cance of air-
The authors thank M. Rocchi for his support in perform- borne microorganisms from wastewater treatment processes.
ing the statistical analyses. This research was supported by Part II: Health signi®cance and alternatives from action. Journal
Italian Ministry of University and Scienti®c and of WPCF 47, 2759±2773.
Technological Research. Islam, M.S., Hasan, M.K., Miah, M.A. et al. (1993) Use of the
polymerase chain reaction and ¯uorescent-antibody methods for
detecting viable but not culturable Shigella dysenteriae type 1 in
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