Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety ( IF 6.2 ) Pub Date : 2018-02-22 , DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2018.02.041 Yanjie Wang , Lin Li , Yunping Han , Junxin Liu , Kaixiong Yang
Samples from two oxidation ditch process municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTPs) (HJK and GXQ) in two regions of China were analysed for bacteria, particles, total organic carbon, and water-soluble ions in bioaerosols. Diversity and potential pathogen populations were evaluated by high-throughput sequencing. Bioaerosol sources, factors affecting intestinal bacterial survival, and the relationship between bioaerosols and water were analysed by Source tracker and partial least squares-discriminant, principal component, and canonical correspondence analyses. Culturable bacteria concentrations were 110–846 and 27–579 CFU/m3 at HJK and GXQ, respectively. Intestinal bacteria constituted 6–33% of bacteria. Biochemical reaction tank, sludge dewatering house (SDH), and fine screen samples showed the greatest contribution to bioaerosol contamination. Enterobacter aerogenes was the main intestinal bacteria (> 99.5%) in HJK and detected at each sampling site. Enterobacter aerogenes (98.67% in SDH), Aeromonas sp. (76.3% in biochemical reaction tank), and Acinetobacter baumannii (99.89% in fine screens) were the main intestinal bacteria in GXQ. Total suspended particulate masses in SDH were 229.46 and 141.6 μg/m3 in HJK and GXQ, respectively. Percentages of insoluble compounds in total suspended particulates decreased as height increased. The main soluble ions in bioaerosols were Ca2+, Na+, Cl-, and SO42-, which ranged from 3.8 to 27.55 μg/m3 in the MWTPs. Water was a main source of intestinal bacteria in bioaerosols from the MWTPs. Bioaerosols in HJK but not in GXQ were closely related. Relative humidity and some ions positively influenced intestinal bacteria in bioaerosols, while wind speed and solar illumination had a negative influence.