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Microbial indicators in municipal solid waste compost and their fate after land application of compost

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Abstract

Despite the extensive agricultural use of municipal solid waste (MSW) compost, there is little information about microbial characteristics of the MSW compost and fate of microorganisms following land application. This study was designed to determine the microbial quality and germination index (GI) of the MSW compost as well as fate of indicator microorganisms after application of MSW compost. The results showed a high fraction of samples are immature (GI < 80). In 27% and 16% of samples fecal coliforms and Salmonella were detected in a range exceeding the recommended value for unrestricted application of compost, respectively. HAdV was also detected in 62% of samples. Fecal enterococci were detected with relatively high concentrations in all samples and showed higher survival rate than other indicators in land-applied MSW compost. The results showed that climate condition significantly contributed to the decline of indicator bacteria in land-applied compost. The results highlight the need for further quality monitoring of compost to ensure that its application does not lead to environmental or human health problems. Furthermore, because of the high concentrations and high survival rate of enterococci in compost samples, they can be specifically proposed as an indicator microorganism for MSW compost quality monitoring.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Institute for Medical Research Development (Grant No. 972954). We also acknowledge the support of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (Grant No. 398767).

Funding

This work was supported by National Institute for Medical Research Development (Grant 344 No. 972954).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Hezar Jerib Avenue, Isfahan, Iran

    Sepideh Sadeghi, Amir Hossein Nafez, Mahnaz Nikaeen, Farzaneh Mohammadi & Maryam Hatamzadeh

  2. Isfahan Municipality Waste Management Organization, Isfahan, Iran

    Davood Jafary Tady

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  1. Sepideh Sadeghi
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  2. Amir Hossein Nafez
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  3. Mahnaz Nikaeen
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Correspondence to Mahnaz Nikaeen.

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Sadeghi, S., Nafez, A.H., Nikaeen, M. et al. Microbial indicators in municipal solid waste compost and their fate after land application of compost. J Environ Health Sci Engineer 21, 85–92 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40201-022-00841-y

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