The bioaerosols emitted from toilet and wastewater treatment plant: a literature review
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REVIEW ARTICLE
The bioaerosols emitted from toilet and wastewater treatment plant: a literature review Mengmeng Lou 1 & Shuai Liu 1 & Chunjie Gu 1 & Huimin Hu 1 & Zhengkun Tang 1 & Yaopeng Zhang 1 & Chenye Xu 1,2 & Fang Li 1,2 Received: 1 July 2020 / Accepted: 18 October 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract The aerosols harboring microorganisms and viruses released from the wastewater system into the air have greatly threatened the health and safety of human beings. The wastewater systems, including toilet and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), are the major locations of epidemic infections due to the extensive sources of aerosols, as well as multifarious germs and microorganisms. Viruses and microorganisms may transport from both toilet and hospital into municipal pipes and subsequently into WWTP, which accounts for the main source of bioaerosols dispersed in the air of the wastewater system. This review aims to elaborate the generation, transmission, and diffusion processes of bioaerosols at toilet and WWTP. Moreover, the main factors affecting bioaerosol transmission and the corresponding prevention strategies for the airborne and inhaled bioaerosols are also discussed. Collectively, this review highlights the importance of managing bioaerosol occurrence in the wastewater system, which has aroused increasing concern from the public. Keywords Bioaerosols . Toilet . Wastewater treatment plant . Airborne . Virus . Epidemic infections
Introduction Recently, the infectious virus has infected over two million people all over the world (Holshue et al. 2020; Mohammadi et al. 2020; Xu et al. 2020). Infectious diseases have greatly threatened human health and economy over the last few decades, since infection may occur via various ways. Among them, airborne transmission is one of the most frequent ways, which posts a huge challenge for effective control (Lai et al. 2018; Nasir et al. 2016). Airborne transmission is defined as aerosol transmission (particle diameter, < 5 μm) or transmission at a distance of over 1 m (Fernstrom and Goldblatt 2013). Notably,
Responsible Editor: Diane Purchase * Chenye Xu [email protected] * Fang Li [email protected] 1
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
2
State Environmental Science and Engineering Centre for Pollution Treatment and Control in Textile Industry, Shanghai 201620, China
aerosol is capable of harboring germs and viruses while prolonging the retention time of such germs in the air due to its own stability (Knowlton et al. 2018). For human beings who are exposed in the air filled with inhalable bioaerosols colonized by viruses and microorganisms, the risk of severe infection may increase and various illnesses may be induced subsequently. It has been confirmed that human beings are easily infected by related bioaerosols generated mainly from two sites, namely, toilet and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) (Fig. 1) (Barker and Bloomfield 2000; Heinonen-Tanski et al. 2009; Lin and M
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