Dispersion characteristics of bioaerosols during treatment of rural solid waste in northwest China

Jianguo Liu; Xuezheng Yu; Ying Wang; Yunping Han; Yingnan Cao; Zixuan Wang; Jinxin Lyu; Ziyu Zhou; Ying Yan; Tianlong Zheng

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121338

Dispersion characteristics of bioaerosols during treatment of rural solid waste in northwest China

Environ Pollut. 2023 May 1:324:121338. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121338. Epub 2023 Feb 24.

Authors

Jianguo Liu¹, Xuezheng Yu², Ying Wang³, Yunping Han⁴, Yingnan Cao⁵, Zixuan Wang⁶, Jinxin Lyu⁷, Ziyu Zhou⁸, Ying Yan⁹, Tianlong Zheng¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation at Universities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, College of Energy and Power Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, 010051, Inner Mongolia, China. Electronic address: jgliu_yxc@163.com.
² Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation at Universities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, College of Energy and Power Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, 010051, Inner Mongolia, China; State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China. Electronic address: xzyu0808@163.com.
³ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. Electronic address: yingwang2018_st@rcees.ac.cn.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. Electronic address: yphan@rcees.ac.cn.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation at Universities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, College of Energy and Power Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, 010051, Inner Mongolia, China. Electronic address: Caoyingnan@imut.edu.cn.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation at Universities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, College of Energy and Power Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, 010051, Inner Mongolia, China; State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China. Electronic address: wzx530668085@163.com.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation at Universities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, College of Energy and Power Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, 010051, Inner Mongolia, China; State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China. Electronic address: 1432182283@qq.com.
⁸ Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation at Universities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, College of Energy and Power Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, 010051, Inner Mongolia, China; State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China. Electronic address: 1240375355@qq.com.
⁹ Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation at Universities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, College of Energy and Power Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot, 010051, Inner Mongolia, China; State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China. Electronic address: 2233968165@qq.com.
¹⁰ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. Electronic address: tlzheng@rcees.ac.cn.

PMID: 36842620
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121338

Abstract

In rural China, the release of bioaerosols containing pathogens from solid waste dumps poses a potential health risk to the local population. Here, we sampled bioaerosols from rural solid waste-treatment in four provinces of northwest China to investigate their emission and dispersion characteristics in order to provide a scientific basis for control and risk reduction of bioaerosols released from rural sanitation facilities. The airborne bioaerosol concentrations and particle size distributions were calculated using an Anderson six-stage airborne microbial sampler and counting with its internal Petri dish culture. High-throughput sequencing was used to characterize the microbial composition at different sampling sites and to explore possible influencing factors, while the health risk associated with exposure was estimated based on average daily dose-rate. The highest concentration point values of bacteria and fungi in bioaerosols near the solid waste were 63,617 ± 15,007 and 8044 ± 893 CFU/m³, respectively. Furthermore, the highest concentration point values of Enterobacteriaceae was 502 ± 35 CFU/m³. Most bioaerosols were coarse particles larger than 3.3 μm. Potentially pathogenic genera of winter-indicator species detected in the air were primarily Delftia, Rhodococcus and Aspergillus. The composition of solid waste and environmental conditions are important factors in determining the characteristics of bioaerosols. Local residents are exposed to bioaerosols mainly through inhalation. Children are at a particularly high risk of exposure through both inhalation and skin contact. The results of this study show that bioaerosols in the vicinity of rural solid waste dumps pose a health risk to the surrounding population. More suitable risk assessment criteria for rural areas should be established, and corresponding control and protection measures should be taken from three aspects: generation source and transmission pathway, as well as the recipient.

Keywords: Bioaerosols; Diffusion; Health risk; Particle size; Rural solid waste.

MeSH terms

Aerosols / analysis
Air Microbiology*
Bacteria
Child
China
Environmental Monitoring
Fungi
Humans
Solid Waste*

Substances

Solid Waste
Aerosols