You are here:
ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF ANTIBIOTICS ON THE RESISTANCE OF RESIDENT MICROBES IN WETLANDS CONSTRUCTED FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT
Citation:
Canfield*, T J. ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF ANTIBIOTICS ON THE RESISTANCE OF RESIDENT MICROBES IN WETLANDS CONSTRUCTED FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT. Presented at SETAC Meeting, Nashville, TN, 11/10-17/2000.
Description:
The use of constructed wetlands as a cost effective and environmentally friendly option for wastewater treatment is becoming more prevalent. These systems are championed as combining many of the benefits of tertiary treatment while also providing high quality wetland habitat as a means of restoring lost wetland acres. While these systems are primarily designed to remove or process solids and nutrients, they are receiving inputs of non target stressors such as organic and inorganic contaminants and in many cases pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics. The effect of these non-target stressors on these systems is relatively unknown. We examined the effect of antibiotic input on resident microbes in wetlands constructed for municipal effluent and confined animal feedlot operations (CAFO). We initially evaluated the relative resistance of resident microbes to four commonly used antibiotics with the paper-disk plate method. Initial results indicate developing resistance of microbes in the effluent from the CAFO to 2 of the 4 antibiotics tested. Tests are currently underway to determine consistency of results for the 4 antibiotics currently tested with effluent from the CAFO wetlands as well as incorporating several other commonly used antibiotics in the evaluation. Additional tests using the effluent from the municipal wastewater treatment plant are underway.
This is an abstract of a proposed presentation and does not necessarily reflect EPA policy.