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ANALYZING BIOSOLIDS FOR FECAL COLIFORM AND SALMONELLAE
Citation:
MECKES, M. C. ANALYZING BIOSOLIDS FOR FECAL COLIFORM AND SALMONELLAE. Presented at Biosolids Exposure Measurement Workshop, Cincinnati, OH, March 16 - 17, 2006.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public
Description:
Current federal regulations required monitoring for fecal coliforms or Salmonella in biosolids destined for land application. Standard protocols designed to quantify these organisms in water or wastewater were identified and specified in these regulations. However, protocols designed to assay biosolids for these microbes were not developed. Recently, methods used for analysis of fecal coliforms and Salmonella were reviewed and a standard protocol was developed for biosolids applications. The protocols were then evaluated by testing various types of biosolids at a dozen laboratories throughout the U.S. and comparing results. Two methods were evaluated for fecal coliforms in biosolids, the lauryl tryptose broth (LTB) - EC broth method and the A-1 method. Both of these methods are multiple fermentation tube methods. A single method for Salmonella was evaluated: the modified semi-solid Rapaport-Vasiliadis procedure. Results of testing showed that there was considerable variation between laboratories depending upon the class of biosolids being evaluated. This presentation discusses the approach taken for these tests and some of the concerns regarding enumeration of fecal coliforms using these protocols.