AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Characteristics of Antibiotic-resistance Bacterial Aerosols and the Removal Efficiency of Biofilter during Composting Process
YUNHAO ZHENG, Hongmin Dong, Yu Zhang, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract Number: 795 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs) recently draw a global attention that pose a threat to worldwide human health. For the benefit of recycling waste and creating a nutrient dense product for land-use, composting has been the main way to treat livestock manure. As a biological process, antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs) and antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARB) tend to escape and can become aerosolized during composting, that not only directly affect the health of workers, but also polluting the surrounding environment. However, the existing research on ARGs and ARB found in bioaerosols were mainly on livestock farms, few published papers are available on these emerging contaminants during the composting process. In this study, the distribution characteristics of airborne ARGs and ARB during composting process were studied by site investigation and laboratory studies. At the same time, this study also analyzes the removal efficiency of airborne ARGs of a biofilter system based on composting. The results of the study would help to assess the potential risk of airborne transmission of ARB and ARGs during composting processes, while providing a theoretical basis to emerging contaminant control, reduction of health risks from bioaerosols containing ARGs and ARB, and prediction of potential hazards.