Student Research Committee and Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran; Environment Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Waste Manag. 2022 May 1;144:98-105. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2022.03.012. Epub 2022 Mar 22.
Land application of MSW compost promotes the soil fertility and productivity, but there is concern about its chemical and microbial quality. Although, current microbial indicators of MSW compost are generally considered to be protective of human health, the use of these indicators doesn't adequately represent the presence of pathogens that might be more resistant to inactivation during composting process. This work aims evaluation of the microbial characteristics of MSW compost and estimation of the health risks associated with exposure to pathogens of potential concern in MSW compost. Although the recommended standards for fecal coliforms and Salmonella were met in a relatively high percentage of samples, there were detectable levels of microbial pathogens. The highest daily infection risk was estimated for Cryptosporidium (1.25 × 10 per person) followed by Salmonella and Campylobacter, while the lowest related to adenovirus. Infection risks were low for both farmers and children in one-time exposure and all pathogen risks were decreased with increasing waiting time to near insignificant levels. However, the median annual risk of cryptosporidiosis or gastroenteritis was above the recommended value of 10 per person per year. Because of potential presence of pathogens in MSW compost, some level of pathogen monitoring beyond conventional indicators may be required to estimate potential risks. The findings of this study could provide information to governments and local authorities in making decisions on measures to reduce risk from application of MSW compost. Further research is needed to obtain the reliable information about the inactivation of microorganisms in environment.
土地应用城市生活垃圾堆肥促进了土壤的肥力和生产力，但人们仍对其化学和微生物质量表示担忧。尽管目前城市生活垃圾堆肥的微生物指标通常被认为对人类健康具有保护作用，但这些指标并不能充分代表在堆肥过程中可能更具抗失活能力的病原体的存在。本研究旨在评估城市生活垃圾堆肥的微生物特性，并评估与接触城市生活垃圾堆肥中潜在关注病原体相关的健康风险。尽管在相对较高比例的样本中达到了粪便大肠菌群和沙门氏菌的推荐标准，但仍检测到微生物病原体的存在。隐孢子虫（每人 1.25×10）的日感染风险最高，其次是沙门氏菌和弯曲杆菌，而腺病毒的相关风险最低。对于农民和儿童来说，单次接触的感染风险均较低，且随着等待时间的增加，所有病原体的风险都降低至接近可忽略的水平。然而，隐孢子虫病或肠胃炎的年平均风险仍高于每人每年 10 的推荐值。由于城市生活垃圾堆肥中可能存在病原体，因此可能需要进行超出常规指标的病原体监测，以评估潜在风险。本研究的结果可为政府和地方当局在采取措施减少城市生活垃圾堆肥应用风险方面提供信息。需要进一步研究以获得有关环境中微生物失活的可靠信息。
