scholarly journals Abundance and Antimicrobial Resistance of Three Bacterial Species along a Complete Wastewater Pathway

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilse Verburg ◽  
Silvia García-Cobos ◽  
Lucia Hernández Leal ◽  
Karola Waar ◽  
Alex W. Friedrich ◽  
...  

After consumption, antibiotic residues and exposed bacteria end up via the feces in wastewater, and therefore wastewater is believed to play an important role in the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). We investigated the abundance and AMR profiles of three different species over a complete wastewater pathway during a one-year sampling campaign, as well as including antimicrobial consumption and antimicrobial concentrations analysis. A total of 2886 isolates (997 Escherichia coli, 863 Klebsiella spp., and 1026 Aeromonas spp.) were cultured from the 211 samples collected. The bacterial AMR profiles mirrored the antimicrobial consumption in the respective locations, which were highest in the hospital. However, the contribution of hospital wastewater to AMR found in the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was below 10% for all antimicrobials tested. We found high concentrations (7–8 logs CFU/L) of the three bacterial species in all wastewaters, and they survived the wastewater treatment (effluent concentrations were around 5 log CFU/L), showing an increase of E. coli in the receiving river after the WWTP discharge. Although the WWTP had no effect on the proportion of AMR, bacterial species and antimicrobial residues were still measured in the effluent, showing the role of wastewater contamination in the environmental surface water.

1992 ◽  
Vol 25 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 427-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Schulze-Rettmer ◽  
S. S. Kim ◽  
S. S. Son

The two-stage activated sludge process (AB-process, i.e. adsorption activated sludge process) invented by Boehnke was successfully applied to several municipal and industrial wastewaters in Korea. The first large wastewater treatment plant for the combined effluents of 22 textile dyeing companies was constructed in Taegu and started operation in 1989. Two years earlier pilot plant runs were performed. The AB-process proved to be superior to any other activated sludge process. BOD was reduced from 1200 mg/l down to 24 mg/l. In the meantime in Korea several further AB-process treatment plants were constructed, the overall planning and constructing period being not longer than one year.


2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 48-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhang Chunhui ◽  
Wang Liangliang ◽  
Gao Xiangyu ◽  
He Xudan

Abstract22 representative antibiotics, including 8 quinolones (QNs), 9 sulfonamides (SAs), and 5 macrolides (MCs) were selected to investigate their occurrence and removal efficiencies in a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and their distribution in the receiving water of the Chaobai River in Beijing, China. Water quality monitoring was performed in an integrated way at different selected points in the WWTP to explore the potential mechanism of antibiotics removal during wastewater treatment. Water quality of the Chaobai River was also analyzed to examine environmental distribution in a river ecosystem. The results showed that within all the 22 compounds examined, 10 antibiotics were quantified in wastewater influent, 10 in effluent, and 7 in river. Sulfadiazine (SDZ, 396 ng/L) and Sulfamethazine (SMZ, 382 ng/L) were the dominating antibiotics in the influent. Both the conventional treatment and advanced Biological Aerated Filter (BAF) system was important for the removal of antibiotics from the wastewater. And the concentrations of selected antibiotics were ranged from 0-41.8 ng/L in the effluent-receiving river. Despite the fact that the concentrations were reduced more than 50% compared to effluent concentrations, WWTP discharge was still regarded as a dominant point-source input of antibiotics into the Chaobai River.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Vierke ◽  
Lutz Ahrens ◽  
Mahiba Shoeib ◽  
Eric J. Reiner ◽  
Rui Guo ◽  
...  

Environmental contextPolyfluoroalkyl compounds, widely used chemicals in consumer and industrial products, are global pollutants in the environment. Transport mechanisms and environmental pathways of these compounds, however, are not yet fully understood. We show that a wastewater treatment plant can be an important source for polyfluoroalkyl compounds to the atmosphere where they have the potential to be transported long distances. AbstractAn air sampling campaign was conducted at a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to investigate air concentrations and particle–gas partitioning of polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs). Samples were collected at an aeration tank and a secondary clarifier using both active high volume samplers and passive samplers comprising sorbent-impregnated polyurethane foam (SIP) disks. Water to air transport of PFCs was believed to be enhanced at the aeration tank owing to aerosol-mediated transport caused by surface turbulence induced by aeration. Mean air concentrations of target PFCs at the aeration tank were enriched relative to the secondary clarifier by factors of ~19, ~4 and ~3 for ∑fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) (11 000 v. 590 pg m–3), ∑perfluorooctane sulfonamides & perfluorooctane sulfonamidoethanols (FOSAs & FOSEs) (120 v. 30 pg m–3) and ∑perfluoroalkyl carboxylates & perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFCAs & PFSAs) (4000 v. 1300 pg m–3) respectively. The particle associated fraction in the atmosphere increased with increasing chain length for PFCAs (from 60 to 100%) and PFSAs were predominantly bound to particles (~98%). Lower fractions on particles were found for FTOHs (~3%), FOSAs (~30%) and FOSEs (~40%). The comparison of the active and passive air sampling showed good agreement.


2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Börjesson ◽  
Ann Mattsson ◽  
Per-Eric Lindgren

Tetracycline-resistant bacteria and genes encoding tetracycline resistance are common in anthropogenic environments. We studied how wastewater treatment affects the prevalence and concentration of two genes, tetA and tetB, that encode resistance to tetracycline. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) we analysed wastewater samples collected monthly for one year at eight key-sites in a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). We detected tetA and tetB at each sampling site and the concentration of both genes, expressed per wastewater volume or per total-DNA, decreased over the treatment process. The reduction of tetA and tetB was partly the result of the sedimentation process. The ratio of tetA and tetB, respectively, to total DNA was lower in or after the biological processes. Taken together our data show that tetracycline resistance genes occur throughout the WWTP, and that the concentrations are reduced under conventional operational strategies.


FACETS ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire N. Freeman ◽  
Lena Scriver ◽  
Kara D. Neudorf ◽  
Lisbeth Truelstrup Hansen ◽  
Rob C. Jamieson ◽  
...  

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been identified as hotspots for antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and thus represent a critical point where patterns in ARG abundances can be monitored prior to their release into the environment. The aim of the current study was to measure the impact of the release of the final treated effluent (FE) on the abundance of ARGs in the receiving water of a recently upgraded WWTP in the Canadian prairies. Sample nutrient content (phosphorous and nitrogen species) was measured as a proxy for WWTP functional performance, and quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to measure the abundance of eight ARGs, the intI1 gene associated with class I integrons, and the 16S rRNA gene. The genes ermB, sul1, intI1, blaCTX-M, qnrS, and tetO all had higher abundances downstream of the WWTP, consistent with the genes with highest abundance in the FE. These findings are consistent with the increasing evidence suggesting that human activity affects the abundances of ARGs in the environment. Although the degree of risk associated with releasing ARGs into the environment is still unclear, understanding the environmental dimension of this threat will help develop informed management policies to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance and protect public health.


1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 43-48
Author(s):  
K. D. Kerri

Operators of small wastewater treatment plants frequently live in remote areas where operator training is not readily available. A training program has been prepared using the techniques of self-instruction, wherein an operator reads a short section of the training material, writes the answers to questions in a notebook, and compares the written answers with suggested answers. The training materials were developed by experienced operators following extensive field studies. First, operators (subject matter experts) for each treatment process prepared an outline of what knowledge and skills (need-to-know criteria) they expected their operators to possess to safely operate and maintain each treatment process in the training manual. Draft chapters were then field tested using operators with varying levels of education and experience to determine the effectiveness of the training materials. Studies conducted on the performance of operators who had participated in the training program and those who had not received the training revealed that trained operators produced a better quality effluent at the same treatment plant over a one-year period. Effective training materials and programs can help operators safely and efficiently operate and maintain small wastewater treatment plants.


2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 1395-1400
Author(s):  
Minghao Kong ◽  
Yonghui Song ◽  
Yizhang Zhang ◽  
Ruixia Liu ◽  
Jian Wei ◽  
...  

The fate and distribution of six phthalate esters (PAEs) in a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) employing an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A2/O) process were investigated. The process achieved relatively high removal efficiencies of PAEs in the range 55–97%. It illustrated that biotransformation and sludge-adsorption were major elimination pathways by analyzing the mass balance and flux of PAEs. About 83% of ∑PAEs was entirely removed by A2/O bioreactors indicating biotransformation is the dominant removal mechanism. PAEs with shorter alkyl chain length and higher water solubility were more biodegradable. Less than 6% of ∑PAEs were removed by excess sludge adsorption. The sludge-adsorption capacity of PAE depends on its hydrophobicity. The levels and fluxes of PAEs were analyzed by monitoring different sites of the receiving river of the WWTP effluent to clarify the potential impact of discharge. Daily flux of PAEs upstream and downstream of the discharging point were 113 kg·d−1 and 205 kg·d−1, respectively, which were higher than the effluent devotion value of 6.67 kg·d−1. It suggested that the emissions from the WWTP appeared to be less than those from the other possible sources, such as potential untreated discharge and surface runoff. Improvement of wastewater collection efficiencies is necessary to eliminate the PAE load in the urban river.


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