Chemical and Microbiological Air Quality in a Municipal Solid Waste Landfill and Its Surroundings, in South-Eastern Romania

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the microbiological and chemical air quality in a municipal solid waste landfill and its inhabited surroundings, in a particular context in which Romania struggles with the incapacity to comply with its environmental commitments. The research was conducted on a landfill near the capital Bucharest between November 2018 and September 2019. To evaluate the chemical (oxygen, carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and carbon monoxide–MX6 iBrid™ Détector multigas) and microbiological (airborne bacteria and fungi–aspiration method) parameters, eight sampling points were established, located both on the perimeter of the landfill and within its surroundings. CO and CH4 were not detected in any of the sampling points, during the study period; O2 was in normal values 20.09–21.05%; CO2 had a maximum average concentration of 620 ± 215; H2S had values between 0.1 and 5.0 ppm only in the sampling points inside the landfill; NH3 was present only once in a single sampling point with values between 1.0 and 3.0 ppm. The microbiological results provide an overview of the total plate count and total fungal count, with no significant differences between the level of contamination inside the landfill and within its surroundings (p > 0.05). Ten bacterial species and fungi from six genera have been identified. It was also found that the number of microorganisms in the air was significantly lower during the winter, spring and early summer months compared with the late summer and autumn months (p < 0.05).