SARS-CoV-2 surveillance-based on municipal solid waste leachate in Brazil.

Municipal solid waste leachate-based epidemiology is an alternative viral tracking tool that applies fresh truck leachate as an early warning of public health emergencies. This study aimed to investigate the potential of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance based on solid waste fresh truck leachate. Twenty truck leachate samples were ultracentrifugated, nucleic acid extracted, and real-time RT-qPCR SARS-CoV-2 N1/N2 applied. Viral isolation, variant of concern (N1/N2) inference, and whole genome sequencing were also performed. SARS-CoV-2 was detected on 40% (8/20) of samples, with a concentration from 2.89 to 6.96 RNA Log10 100 mL-1. The attempt to isolate SARS-CoV-2 and recover the whole genome was not successful; however, positive samples were characterized as possible pre-variant of concern (pre-VOC), VOC Alpha (B.1.1.7) and variant of interest Zeta (P.2). This approach revealed an alternative tool to infer SARS-CoV-2 in the environment and may help the management of local surveillance, health, and social policies.

A review on membrane concentrate management from landfill leachate treatment plants: The relevance of resource recovery to close the leachate treatment loop.

Membrane filtration processes have been used to treat landfill leachate. On the other hand, closing the leachate treatment loop and finding a final destination for landfill leachate membrane concentrate (LLMC) - residual stream of membrane systems - is challenging for landfill operators. The re-introduction of LLMC into the landfill is typical; however, this approach is critical as concentrate pollutants may accumulate in the leachate treatment facility. From that, leachate concentrate management based on resource recovery rather than conventional treatment and disposal is recommended. This work comprehensively reviews the state-of-the-art of current research on LLMC management from leachate treatment plants towards a resource recovery approach. A general recovery train based on the main LLMC characteristics for implementing the best recovery scheme is presented in this context. LLMCs could be handled by producing clean water and add-value materials. This paper offers critical insights into LLMC management and highlights future research trends.

Comparison between Aliivibrio fischeri and activated sludge microorganisms in the evaluation of the toxic pollutants of leachates from Brazilian landfills.

Ecotoxicological assessment of landfill leachate has become a priority to determine its impacts on the ecosystem. Toxicity assays with microorganisms stand out due to their quick response, low cost and ease of testing. In this context, the present study evaluated the acute toxic effects of leachates from two landfills of different ages and modes of operation to bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri and activated sludge microorganisms and the ammonia nitrogen and humic substances (HS) sensitivity to these organisms. Reductions greater than 30% in leachate toxicity were observed after ammonia removal for A. fischeri and activated sludge microorganisms. After 97% removal of HS, the greater reductions in toxicity (44.28 to 79.82%) were verified for microbial species studied, indicating that the organic compounds (measured as chemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon and humic substances) were the primary pollutants responsible for the toxicity of the leachates. Concerning the organisms studied, A. fischeri showed greater sensitivity to the leachates' pollutants compared to the activated sludge microorganisms. Nevertheless, a strong correlation was observed between A. fischeri and activated sludge microorganisms' toxicity responses, suggesting that respirometry assay can be used to determine leachate toxicity.

Cost estimation of landfill leachate treatment by reverse osmosis in a Brazilian landfill.

The reverse osmosis (RO) process has been increasingly applied to landfill leachate treatment. The published literature reports several studies that investigated the technical feasibility of RO. However, information about process costs is scarce. Also, companies that run leachate treatment plants do not provide actual costs. To fill this gap, this study aimed to evaluate the treatment costs of a full-scale RO for the treatment of landfill leachate located in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. A procedure was proposed to estimate the capital expenses (CAPEX), operational expenses (OPEX), and specific total treatment cost, the total cost per m3 of treated leachate, of the leachate treatment by membrane process, and the results obtained are discussed. The CAPEX for this full-scale RO was estimated at MUS$ 1.413, and OPEX ranged from US$ 0.132 to US$ 0.265 m-3 per year. The cost of leachate treatment has been estimated at US$ 8.58 m-3 considering the operation of the RO-unit for 20 years after landfill closure.

Nanofiltration applied to the landfill leachate treatment and preliminary cost estimation.

The leachate treatment by nanofiltration (NF) process has received much attention over the last two decades. Previous studies focused on the investigation of the technical feasibility of NF. However, there are a limited number of works that examined leachate treatment costs. On the other hand, in a landfill management system, the economic component is an imperative factor for the decisions of all operations. Thereby, this work aimed to investigate the technical feasibility and economic parameters involved in a full-scale NF plant for the treatment of leachate previously treated by the physicochemical process. The average quality of the pre-treated leachate was 2258 ± 230 mg L-1 chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 821 ± 86 mg L-1 humic substances (HS). NF was performed using a bench-scale filtration module with commercial polymeric membranes SR100 and NP030. At the end of each filtration, a cleaning protocol was applied to recover the initial membrane permeability. The concentration of recalcitrant compounds, expressed as HS, was reduced to 84 ± 8 mg L-1 in the permeate, and COD complies with the wastewater discharge standards imposed by local legislation. The capital costs for a full-scale NF was estimated at MUS$ 0.772, and specific total cost, treated leachate per volume unit, has been estimated at US$ 8.26 m-3.

Análise econômico-financeira do gerenciamento dos resíduos sólidos orgânicos em uma agroindústria de processamento mínimo de hortaliças / Economic and financial analysis of the management of organic solid waste from a small-scale agro-processing industry

RESUMO As atividades agroindustriais geram grandes quantidades de resíduos sólidos orgânicos. Por essa razão, são responsáveis por estabelecer metas e estratégias de gerenciamento de seus resíduos, visando, sempre que possível, à reutilização, à reciclagem e ao tratamento. Realizou-se um estudo de caso em que foi avaliada a viabilidade econômico-financeira de diferentes cenários para o gerenciamento de resíduos sólidos orgânicos provenientes do processamento mínimo de hortaliças em uma agroindústria localizada na cidade de Teresópolis, no estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Os cenários que avaliaram os custos com a disposição final dos resíduos sólidos orgânicos em aterros sanitários se apresentaram elevados. Já no cenário que considerou o tratamento dos resíduos sólidos orgânicos, por meio da técnica de compostagem, observou-se que este foi viável financeiramente e atrativo para investimento, pois apresentou uma rentabilidade na ordem de 19,28% a.a., rentabilidade esta superior às diferentes opções de aplicações financeiras disponíveis no mercado. Com o tratamento dos resíduos sólidos orgânicos e a comercialização do composto produzido, promove-se a geração de receita para a agroindústria e a destinação ambientalmente correta desses resíduos, pois o tratamento não só reduz os impactos ambientais e o volume de resíduos gerados, mas também permite a reinserção dos nutrientes no ciclo produtivo de novas culturas, gerando renda para a agroindústria. Para o tratamento dos resíduos faz-se necessário um investimento inicial de R$ 385.388,09, e estimou-se que o tempo necessário para a recuperação do capital financeiro foi de curto prazo, com quatro anos e dez meses.

ABSTRACT Agro-industrial activities generate large quantities of organic solid waste. For this reason, they are responsible for establishing goals and strategies for the management of their waste, aiming at reuse, recycling, and treatment whenever possible. This work presents a case study was carried out to evaluate the economic and financial viability of different scenarios for the management of agro-industry residues generated by the minimum processing of vegetables, located in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The scenarios that evaluated the costs of disposal of organic solid waste in landfills were high. On the other hand, in the scenario that considered the treatment of organic solid wastes, through the composting technique, it was observed that it was financially feasible and attractive for investment, since it presented a profitability of 19.28% per year, which is higher than different options available in the market. With the treatment of organic solid waste and the commercialization of the compound produced, the generation of revenue for the agroindustry and the environmentally correct destination of this waste are promoted, since it not only reduces the environmental impacts and the volume of waste generated, but also allows the reinsertion of nutrients into the productive cycle of new crops, generating income for the agroindustry. For the treatment of waste, an initial investment of R$ 385,388.09 is necessary, where it was estimated that the time required to recover financial capital was in the short term, with four years and ten months.

Evaluation of toxic potential of leachate originating from experimental landfill cells containing household waste and healthcare waste.

Two experimental cells with household solid waste and healthcare solid waste were monitored in order to evaluate the pollution potential, and its toxicity effects corresponding to the chemical substances present in the leachates generated, correlating the physico-chemical composition with the ecotoxicity results (organisms Aliivibrio fischeri and Danio rerio). From the statistical evaluation of the physico-chemical analysis results, leachate generated in the household solid waste cell presented greater or equal values than to the healthcare solid waste cell, except for the turbidity parameter. The ecotoxicity results showed the same behaviour as that obtained with the physico-chemical analysis. A significant positive correlation was verified between chemical oxygen demand, alkalinity and ammonia nitrogen parameters with the leachate toxicity. This study concluded that healthcare solid waste presented less or equal polluting potential compared with household solid waste, and the co-disposal can be considered a viable alternative in sanitary landfills.

Evaluation of reduction estrogenic activity in the combined treatment of landfill leachate and sanitary sewage.

Combined treatment of urban solid waste leachate and domestic sewage has emerged in Brazil and worldwide as an alternative to minimize the difficulties of treating landfill leachate. Landfill leachate is a complex matrix of organic and inorganic substances, recalcitrant material and xenobiotic organic compounds that are considered to be highly toxic, as well as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC) that contribute to increased estrogenic activity. Although combined treatment is feasible for removal of organic matter, ammonia and toxicity, the efficiency of the removal of estrogenic substance is poorly investigated. In this study, the activated sludge process in batch and continuous modes was used for the combined treatment of 2% and 5% leachate/sewage mixtures. Estrogenic activity was reduced in reactors in both batch and continuous modes. The activated sludge process achieved average reductions of the estradiol equivalent (EQ-E2) values in the combined treatment of 94.5, 60.8 and 66.4% for the sanitary sewage, 2% mixture leachate in sewage and 5% mixture leachate in sewage reactors, respectively, in batch mode. For continuous reactors, 86%, 72%, and 65% of reduction of EQ-E2were achieved for sanitary sewage, 2 and 5% mixture with sanitary sewage. As for EQ-E2, the increase in the concentration of leachate in the sewage mixture was detrimental to the removal of estrogenic compounds during the biological process. Therefore, a limit on the % leachate/sewage mixtures should be established to achieve efficiency in the combined treatment of leachate in a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP).

Caracterização microbiológica de lixiviados gerados por resíduos sólidos domiciliares e de serviços de saúde da cidade do Rio de Janeiro / Microbiological characterization of leachate from domestic and hospital solid wastes from Rio de Janeiro city

O presente trabalho consistiu na caracterização microbiológica de lixiviados gerados a partir de resíduos sólidos de serviços de saúde e domiciliares para subsidiar a discussão do tratamento e disposição final diferenciados para os resíduos sólidos de serviços de saúde. Foram analisados: coliformes totais e termotolerantes; Escherichia coli, Enterococos, Salmonella e outras enterobactérias; Pseudomonas aeruginosa, bactérias heterotróficas aeróbias mesófilas, análise da suscetibilidade aos antimicrobianos e pesquisa da atividade antimicrobiana do lixiviado. Foram observadas densidades expressivas das populações microbianas em resíduos sólidos de serviços de saúde e domiciliares com valores que variaram de 10(8) a 10(9). Em ambos os lixiviados, ocorreram estirpes resistentes e sensíveis aos antimicrobianos, e nenhuma delas apresentou resistência a todos os antibióticos testados. Os resultados mostraram semelhanças entre ambos os tipos de resíduos e reforçam a recomendação de codisposição de resíduos sólidos de serviços de saúde e domiciliares em aterros sanitários.

The present paper consisted on the microbiological characterization of leachate generated from solid waste from health services and municipal solid waste. This study aimed to support the discussion about the need for differentiated treatment and disposal for the health services solid waste. The following parameters were selected: total coliforms, thermotolerant coliforms, Escherichia coli, Enterococci, trials for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella and other Enterobacteria, analysis of susceptibility to antimicrobials and research on antimicrobial activity of the leachate. Expressive densities were observed in microbial populations in health services and municipal solid waste, with values ranging from 10(8) to 10(9). In both wastes, resistant and susceptible strains to antimicrobials occurred and none were resistant to all antibiotics tested. Results showed similarities for both types of waste and reinforce the recommendation for health services and municipal solid waste co-disposal in sanitary landfills.

Controle de mosca doméstica em área de disposição de resíduos sólidos no Brasil / House fly control in solid waste disposal area in Brazil

Desenvolveu-se uma metodologia de controle de Musca domestica (L.) em áreas de disposição de resíduos sólidos. Dois mosquicidas à base de azametifós foram aplicados em diferentes superfícies: nas verticais, a formulação pó molhável foi aplicada com rolos de pintura e, através de pulverização, na superfície de leiras; nas horizontais, foi empregado o mosquicida na formulação granulada. O nível de infestação de moscas foi avaliado por meio do monitoramento em placas (Scudder Fly Grill). Nas áreas das leiras, reduções de 98,5% e 100% foram atingidas em 18 e 30 dias, respectivamente, após a aplicação do produto. Na estação de transferência do lixo, observaram-se reduções de 85,6% e 98,7% no mesmo período de tempo. A aplicação de azametifós em diferentes formulações mostrou ser eficiente no controle da Musca domestica por um período de 30 dias.

A Musca domestica (L.) control method in solid waste disposal areas was developed. Two fly control products based on azamethiphos were applied to different surfaces: on vertical surfaces, the wettable powder was used as spray or paint-on and on windrows, as spray; on horizontal surfaces granular bait was used. Fly infestation was evaluated by Scudder Fly Grills. In the windrows areas, reductions of 98,5% and 100 % were achieved 18 and 30 days respectively after application. In the waste transfer station 85,6% and 98,7 % reductions were achieved over the same period of time. Application of azamethiphos in different formulations was effective against M. domestica for 30 days.

Optimization of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction for molecular typing of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi.

Optimization of the RAPD reaction for characterizing Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi strains was studied in order to ensure the reproducibility and the discriminatory power of this technique. Eight Salmonella serovar Typhi strains isolated from various regions in Brazil were examined for the fragment patterns produced using different concentrations of DNA template, primer, MgCl2 and Taq DNA polymerase. Using two different low stringency thermal cycle profiles, the RAPD fingerprints obtained were compared. A set of sixteen primers was evaluated for their ability to produce a high number of distinct fragments. We found that variations associated to all of the tested parameters modified the fingerprinting patterns. For the strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi used in this experiment, we have defined a set of conditions for RAPD-PCR reaction, which result in a simple, fast and reproducible typing method.

Optimization of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction for molecular typing of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi

A otimização da reação de RAPD para a caracterização de cepas de Salmonella enterica sorovar Typhi foi estudada com o objetivo de assegurar a reprodutibilidade e o poder discriminatório desta técnica. Oito cepas de Salmonella sorovar Typhi isoladas de algumas regiões do Brasil foram usadas para examinar os padrões de fragmentação produzidos quando foram empregadas concentrações diferentes do DNA molde, do iniciador, do MgCl2 e da enzima Taq DNA polimerase. Com a utilização de dois diferentes perfis de ciclos termais de baixa estringência, foram comparados os padrões de bandeamento obtidos. Um conjunto de dezesseis iniciadores foi avaliado quanto à capacidade de produzir elevado número de fragmentos distintos. Observou-se que variações associadas a todos os parâmetros testados modificaram os padrões de bandeamento. Para as amostras de Salmonella enterica sorovar Typhi utilizadas neste experimento, definiu-se um conjunto de condições para a reação de RAPD-PCR que resultou num método de tipagem simples, rápido e reprodutível.

Emergência da múltipla resistência a antimicrobianos em Vibrio cholerae isolados de pacientes com gastroenterite no Ceará, Brasil / Emergence of multiple drug resistence in Vibrio cholerae isolated from patients with gastroenteritis in Ceará, Brasil

Das 7058 amostras de Vibrio cholerae isoladas de pacientes com suspeita de síndrome coleriforme, no período de 1991 a 1993, no Estado do Ceará, foram detectadas duas com as características de múltipla resistência aos antimicrobianos (tetraciclina, ampicilina, sulfametoxazol-trimetoprima) e ao composto vibriostático O/129 (2,4-diamino-6, 7-diisopropilpteridina). Do ponto de vista bacteriológico uma amostra foi identificada como V.cholerae sorogrupo O:1, biotipo El Tor e sorovar Inaba e a outra, caracterizada como V. cholerae sorogrupo O:22, classificada bioquimicamente no tipo II de Heiberg. Foi demonstrado que apenas na amostra do sorogrupo O:1, a multirresistência era codificada por um plasmídio, transferível por conjugaçäo para Escherichia coli K12 e amostras sensíveis de V. cholerae O1 e näo O1, numa frequência entre 8x10-² a 5x10-(6). O plasmídio responsável pela multirresistência apresentou um peso molecular de 147 Kb, compatível com as descriçöes em outras partes do mundo