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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2007, p. 4522-4531, Vol. 73, No. 14
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02387-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Source Tracking Aerosols Released from Land-Applied Class B Biosolids during High-Wind Events{triangledown}

Carolina Baertsch,1 Tania Paez-Rubio,1 Emily Viau,2 and Jordan Peccia2*

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287,1 Department of Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering Program, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 065202

Received 10 October 2006/ Accepted 13 May 2007

DNA-based microbial source tracking (MST) methods were developed and used to specifically and sensitively track the unintended aerosolization of land-applied, anaerobically digested sewage sludge (biosolids) during high-wind events. Culture and phylogenetic analyses of bulk biosolids provided a basis for the development of three different MST methods. They included (i) culture- and 16S rRNA gene-based identification of Clostridium bifermentans, (ii) direct PCR amplification and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene for an uncultured bacterium of the class Chloroflexi that is commonly present in anaerobically digested biosolids, and (iii) direct PCR amplification of a 16S rRNA gene of the phylum Euryarchaeota coupled with terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism to distinguish terminal fragments that are unique to biosolid-specific microorganisms. Each method was first validated with a broad group of bulk biosolids and soil samples to confirm the target's exclusive presence in biosolids and absence in soils. Positive responses were observed in 100% of bulk biosolid samples and in less than 11% of the bulk soils tested. Next, a sampling campaign was conducted in which all three methods were applied to aerosol samples taken upwind and downwind of fields that had recently been land applied with biosolids. When average wind speeds were greater than 5 m/s, source tracking results confirmed the presence of biosolids in 56% of the downwind samples versus 3% of the upwind samples. During these high-wind events, the biosolid concentration in downwind aerosols was between 0.1 and 2 µg/m3. The application of DNA-based source tracking to aerosol samples has confirmed that wind is a possible mechanism for the aerosolization and off-site transport of land-applied biosolids.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520. Phone: (203) 432-4385. Fax: (203) 432-4387. E-mail: jordan.peccia{at}yale.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 18 May 2007.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2007, p. 4522-4531, Vol. 73, No. 14
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02387-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

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  • Viau, E., Peccia, J. (2009). Survey of Wastewater Indicators and Human Pathogen Genomes in Biosolids Produced by Class A and Class B Stabilization Treatments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 164-174 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Pepper, I. L., Zerzghi, H., Brooks, J. P., Gerba, C. P. (2008). Sustainability of Land Application of Class B Biosolids. J. Environ. Qual. 37: S-58-S-67 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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