An assessment of sewage workers' exposure to airborne cultivable bacteria, fungi and inhaled endotoxins was performed at 11 sewage treatment plants. We sampled the enclosed and unenclosed treatment areas in each plant and evaluated the influence of seasons (summer and winter) on bioaerosol levels. We also measured personal exposure to endotoxins of workers during special operation where a highe...

Biological treatment of waste water from bulk drug production, contaminated with high levels of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, can lead to massive enrichment of antibiotic resistant bacteria, resistance genes and associated mobile elements, as previously shown. Such strong selection may be boosted by the use of activated sludge (AS) technology, where microbes that are able to thrive on the chemic...

The present study was aimed at evaluating the air microflora on the premises of the sewage treatment plant Kapuściska in Bydgoszcz and in the surrounding area, and was conducted with the use of the sedimentation and impaction methods. The analysis reveals that mould fungi were the most abundant, followed by mesophylic heterotrophic bacteria. Actinomycetes and mannitol-positive staphylococci con...

A model for the simulation of nitrification in activated sludge is presented and calculations are compared with experimental results from different sources. The role of protozoa and the influence of reactor type and of diurnal variations in flow and strength of the sewage are considered. Favorable conditions for nitrification are low rates of sludge wasting, high temperatures, plug-flow-type re...

The optimum growth requirements of two nitrifying consortia developed from treated sewage by enrichment technique were determined by a series of experiments. There was total inhibition of nitrification at above 2.75 g l(-1) NH4(+)- N and 2.5 g l(-1) NO2(-)-N and the ammonia oxidizing consortium preferred a pH at 8.5 and the nitrite oxidizing consortium a pH of 7.5 as the optima for nitrificatio...

This study aims to determine the agronomic value of sewage sludge and green waste compost and the evolution of bioavailability of heavy metals in the course of composting. In this study (60 %) of sewage sludge and (40 %) of crushed green waste were mixed. The mixture of these organic wastes was put in a wooden cubic composter having a volume of (1.5 m 3 ) for a period of 90 days. The aeration o...

Nitrogen and phosphorus present in sewage can be used for microalgae growth, possibiliting cost reduction in the production of microalgae at the same time that it decreases the eutrophication potential of the effluent. This research aimed at monitoring the native community of microalgae and coliform bacteria in a secondary effluent from anaerobic municipal sewage treatment. Two treatments (aera...

An increase in global population, coupled with intensive development of industry and agriculture, has resulted in the generation and accumulation of large amounts of waste around the world. The spread of pathogenic microorganisms, endotoxins, odours and dust particles in the air is an inevitable consequence of waste production and waste management. Thus, the risk of infections associated with w...