Urszula Wydro

Advantages and potential risks of municipal sewage sludge application to urban soil

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate some advantages and potential risks of application of sewage sludge from the Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant in Sokolka to urban soils. The sewage sludge used in the research was free of Salmonella and viable helminth ova—Ascaris sp., Trichuris sp., Toxocara sp. The study also included the determination of concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in soil and in the aboveground parts of lawn grasses and selected physical and chemical properties of soils fertilized with different doses of sludge. The narrow ratio of carbon to nitrogen on test areas provides conditions for rapid decomposition of the organic matter and may cause a gradual release of metals into the soil solution, thus making them more available to the plants. The bioconcentration factor of heavy metals in the plants along the main streets of Bialystok is characterized by considerable local variation. Based on these results, it was found that plants absorbed small amounts of Mn, Ni and ...

The ways to increase efficiency of soil bioremediation

Abstract The aim of this paper was to present possibilities of using different substrates to assist the bioremediation of soils contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides and other substances. Todays bioengineering offers many solutions that enable the effective conduct of biological remediation, including both biostimulation and bioaugmentation. For this purpose, they are used to enrich various organic substances, sorbents, microbiological and enzymatic preparations, chemical substances of natural origin or nanoparticles. The use of genetic engineering as a tool to obtain microorganisms and plants capable of efficient degradation of pollutants may cause the risks that entails the introduction of transgenic plants and microorganisms into the environment. In order to determine the efficacy and possible effects of the various bioremediation techniques, it is required to conduct many studies and projects on a larger scale than only in the laboratory. Furthermore, it should be emphasized that bioremediation involves interdisciplinary issues and therefore, there is a need to combine knowledge from different disciplines, such as: microbiology, biochemistry, ecology, environmental engineering and process engineering.

The impact of pesticides on oxidative stress level in human organism and their activity as an endocrine disruptor

ABSTRACT Pesticides cause serious environmental and health problems both to humans and animals. The aim of this review is to discuss selected herbicides and fungicides regarding their mode of action and their influence on basic oxidative stress parameters and endocrine disruption properties tested in selected cell cultures in vitro. Because of numerous difficulties which animal studies are subject to, cell cultures are an excellent experimental model reflecting human exposure to different pesticides through all relevant routes. This experimental model can be used to monitor aggregate and cumulative pesticide exposures.

INFLUENCE OF SEWAGE SLUDGE ON THE CHOSEN SOIL PROPERTIES AND MICROBIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF URBAN GRASS MIXTURES RHIZOSPHERE

The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of municipal sewage sludge on selected microbiological parameters in the rhizosphere of lawn grass mixtures. Four experiments on the lawns along the main roads of Bialystok were founded. The factors in the experiment were three doses of sewage sludge (0 – control; 7.5 and 15 kg·m-2) and two grass mixtures (Eko and Roadside). The studied parameters were monitored twice during 2011 vegetation season by determining the total number of soil microorganisms, the total number of Gram-negative bacteria, the number of bacteria of Pseudomonas fluorescens species, the number of amylolytic and proteolytic bacteria. Sewage sludge amended to soil resulted in a change of physical-chemical properties of soil. The sewage sludge application to soil influenced significantly the number of proteolytic and Gram-negative bacteria.

The effect of sewage sludge on the growth and species composition of the sward and the content of heavy metals in plants and urban soil

Abstract The effect of sewage sludge on the growth and species composition of the sward and the content of heavy metals in plants and urban soil. The determination of the sludge fertilising infl uence for the growth and composition of the urban grasslands’ swards and heavy metals concentration in above-ground parts of the plants was the aim of the study. The study was conducted on four research plots along the main roads in Białystok. The plots were seeded with two mixtures of lawn grasses (Eko and Roadside) and three doses of sludge were applied: 0 (control), 7.5 and 15 kg/m2. The study also included the determination of concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn in soil and in the above-ground parts of lawn grasses and selected physical and chemical properties of soils fertilized with different doses of sludge. The dose of 7.5 kg/m2 increased the plant dry matter on average by 53%, the dose of 15 kg/m2 - on average by 90%. The largest effect of fertilization was found for lightest soil. Under these conditions, grass dry matter fertilized with 7.5 kg/m2 sludge was almost doubled, and fertilized with the dose of 15 kg/m2 was almost three times larger than in not fertilized areas. Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) was the dominant species in the sward. Perennial ryegrass constituted on average 71% of all grass species in the areas fertilized with sewage sludge in the dose of 7.5 kg/m2, while on the areas fertilized with 15 kg/m2 - about 81%, and on not fertilized ones - 50% on average. Bioconcentration factor in the study allowed for estimating the plants ability to collect heavy metals present in the soil. Based on these results, it was found that the rate of bioconcentration of Cd, Cr, Cu and Pb was the highest in August, which may indicate the ease of downloading these metals by plants, particularly high mobility of metals during this period, and lower in October and June Streszczenie Wpływ osadu ściekowego na wzrost i skład gatunkowy runi oraz na zawartość metali ciężkich w roślinach i glebie. Celem badań było określenie wpływu nawożenia komunalnym osadem ściekowym z Miejskiej Oczyszczalni Ścieków w Sokółce na wzrost i skład gatunkowy runi trawników przyulicznych oraz zawartość metali w częściach nadziemnych tych roślin. Badania przeprowadzono na czterech powierzchniach badawczych, wzdłuż głównych ciągów komunikacyjnych na terenie Białegostoku. Zastosowano dwie mieszanki gazonowych odmian traw (Eko i Roadside) oraz trzy dawki osadu ściekowego: 0 (kontrola), 7,5 i 15 kg/m2. Dawka 7,5 kg/m2 zwiększyła masę części nadziemnych średnio o 53%, a dawka 15 kg/m2 - średnio o 90%. Największy efekt nawożenia stwierdzono na glebie najlżejszej. W tych warunkach siedliskowych masa runi nawożonej dawką 15 kg/m2 osadu była prawie dwukrotnie, a dawką 7,5 kg/m2 prawie 58% większa niż na powierzchniach nienawożonych. Gatunkiem dominującym w runi badanych powierzchni była życica trwała (Lolium perenne L.). Stanowiła ona w masie runi na powierzchniach nawożonych dawką 7,5 kg/m2 średnio 71%, dawką 15 kg/m2 - średnio 81%, a na powierzchniach nienawożonych - średnio 50%. Wartość wskaźnika biokoncentracji Cd, Cr, Cu i Pb była największa w sierpniu, co może świadczyć o łatwości pobierania tych metali przez rośliny i szczególnie dużej ruchliwości metali w tym okresie, najmniejsza natomiast w październiku oraz czerwcu

The Effect of Organic Substrates Application on the Amylolytic Activity of Urban Soils

The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of fresh and thermally treated sewage sludge on the amylolytical activity of the urban soils. Two experimental areas on the lawns along the main roads of Bialystok were prepared in 2011 and 2015. The factors taken into account in the experiment involved: the type of sewage sludge (mechanically dewatered – SS and thermally dried “Granbial” – G), three doses of sewage sludge (0 – control; 14.5 and 29 t DM/ha) and two grass mixtures (Eko and Roadside). The number of amylolytic bacteria in grass mixtures and rhizosphere and amylase activity in soil were monitored twice during 2011 and 2012 vegetation season (in July and October). The main properties of soil (soil pH, granulometric composition, total organic carbon – TOC, available phosphorus and total nitrogen content) after the application of organic substrates were also analysed. Addition of the dewatered sewage sludge to soil resulted in an increase in the number of amylolytic bacteria (from 7.4 to 18.8 ∙106 cfu/g DM) in July, while in the soil treatment with thermally dried sludge, the increased number of the bacteria (from 11.03 to 44.68 ∙106 cfu/g DM) was observed in October. The amylases activity in the soil treated with SS exhibited the highest average value in July (2.11 mg Glc/g DM ∙24 h), while in the soil treated with “Granbial”, it was stable in studied period (from 1.65 to 2.18 mg Glc/g DM ∙24 h).

THE INFLUENCE OF FERTILIZATION WITH SEWAGE SLUDGE AND BIOSOLIDS ON HEAVY METAL CONTENT IN WHITE MUSTARD SEEDS

The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of fertilization with sewage sludge and biosolids on heavy metal content in white mustard (Sinapis alba) seeds. The study was conducted in 2012 on experimental plots in the State Higher Vocational School in Suwałki. Each research area was divided into 3 blocks 18 m2 each, constituting repetitions. The test areas were fertilized with three different fertilization variants with sewage sludge biosolids: K1 – sewage sludge, K2 – sludge subjected to a process of composting with a three-month compost organic waste and K3 – sludge subjected to the composting process with a three-month compost organic waste from the biological preparation Trigger – 4. The samples of sewage sludge were collected for the analysis and one determined its basic physical, chemical, microbiological and parasitological properties, in accordance with the requirements of the Decree of the Minister of the Environment of July 13th 2010 on municipal sewage sludge (Journal of Laws of 2010 No 137 item. 924). Based on these results, it was found that the cadmium concentrations in the seeds mustard ranged from 0.2 mg/kg s.m. on plots with the variant K3 to 0.93 mg/kg s.m. in the variant K1. On the other hand, lead content ranged from 0.3 to 4.25 mg/kg s.m. which shows that none of the analyzed samples met the standards for lead and cadmium contained in the Decree of the Minister of Health of January 13th 2003. The statistical analysis indicated that the concentrations of Cd in mustard seed was significantly correlated with the concentrations of Received: 2017.03.27 Accepted: 2017.05.02 Published: 2017.06.01

THE ASSESSMENT OF MICROBIOLOGICAL INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN BAKERIES

The aim of this study was to assess microbiological indoor air quality of selected bakeries located in the region of Podlasie. The microbiological studies were conducted in autumn in 2014 in three selected bakeries. Microbiological air counts were measured by impaction using an air sampler MAS-100 NT. The microbiological air studies, comprised the determination of the total number of psychrophilic and mesophilic bacteria, namely indicator bacteria such as: bacteria of the species Pseudomonas fluorescens, mannitol-positive and mannitol-negative Staphylococc, the total number of bacteria from the Enterobacteriaceae family and fungi found in atmospheric air. The results of the study of indoor air polluted with the analyzed groups of microorganisms differed depending on the type of test air and the location of the manufacturing plant. In the plants, the concentration of mesophilic bacteria and mannitol–positive and mannitol-negative Staphylococcus exceeded the limit values of unpolluted air, according to the Polish Standard recommendations.

Changes of biological and chemical indicators in soil after dehydrated sewage sludge application

AbstractThe aim of the study was to determine how fast the hygienization process of sewage sludge used for lawns in Bialystok takes place. The study also included the determination of concentrations of Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn and their relations with biological factors in studied soil samples. In the tested samples, neither Salmonella sp., nor invasive nematode eggs belonging to the genera Ascaris, Trichuris, and Toxocara were found. Moreover, a significant reduction in microbiological indicators was determined, that is psychrophilic and mesophilic plate count bacteria, total coliforms and fecal coliforms bacteria as well as Clostridium sp. and Enterococcus sp., to the level corresponding with control sectors. On the basis of the studies, one could observe a lower content of certain heavy metals such as Cd, Ni, Zn, and Pb in 2012 compared with 2011, while the content of chromium and copper in the soils increased significantly in 2012. All studied heavy metal contents in soil in 2011 and 2012 were in th...

EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF SEWAGE SLUDGE AMENDMENT ON URBAN LAWN GRASSES

The paper presents the results of research on the use of sewage sludge from the municipal sewage treatment plant in Bialystok for fertilization of urban lawns. To fertilize the ground two types of deposits were used: stabilized sludge after the dewatering process in the press and granular sludge after drying in the sludge dryer. Two doses of sludge were used – 5 and 10 kg/m2. Effective microorganisms (EM) were added to the test plots. Both doses of the applied sewage sludge contributed significantly to the growth of grass biomass. Aboveground biomass of the plants was significantly correlated with the concentration of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in the surface layer of the soil. The addition of EM to soil containing the dewatered sludge from the press reduced significantly the content of heavy metals in the soil, as opposed to the sludge in a form of granules with addition of EM, which contributed to the increase of their concentration in the soil.