1 research outputs found
Identification of airborne fungi’s concentrations in indoor and outdoor air of municipal wastewater treatment plant
Background: Airborne fungi play an important role the quality of indoor and outdoor air. The aim of
this study was to investigate the concentration of airborne fungi around different parts of the wastewater
treatment plant (WWTP) in the west of Ahvaz and its relationship with some important meteorological
parameters.
Methods: This study was conducted on a WWTP in the west of Ahvaz during 4 months in both cold and
warm seasons. Samples were collected from 2- and 10-m intervals of the grit chamber (GCh), primary
sludge dewatering basin (PSDB), and aeration tank (AT), as well as 60 m upstream (US), downstream
(DS), and administrative building (AB) of the WWTP. Bioaerosols were collected using passive sampling
method. Temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and ultraviolet index (UV) were also
measured at the time of sampling.
Results: The total concentration of fungi was 46.1 ± 43 CFU/plate/h. The highest concentration of fungi
(92.2 ± 28.12 CFU/plate/h) was found 2 m away from the GCh in the cold season and the lowest one
(24.6 ± 6.67 CFU/plate/h) was found at the 10-m distance of the AT in the warm season. The dominant
fungal genus included Cladosporium, Alternaria, Yeast, and Aspergillus, respectively. Also, there was a
significant relationship between the degree of fungal contamination in different units, the US and DS of
the WWTP, and there was a negative relationship between the release of fungi and UV.
Conclusion: According to the results, grit chamber plays an important role in releasing airborne fungi.
Also, airborne fungi were reduced with an increase in distance and UV.
Keywords: Bioaerosols, Fungi, Meteorological parameters, Wastewater treatment plan