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22. Blannon, J. c. and M. L. Peterson. SuTv!va.l of Fecal 

Coliforms and Fecal Streptococci in a Sanitary Landfill. 

Solid and Hazardou• Yaste 'Re1eareb. April 12, 1974. 

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esearch in 

SOLID AND (e(.c, 'Tf?.,,, 

HAZARDOUS 10· !l'iq/, li!'f 

WASTE RESEARCH 

b-1-h~ 

u.s. 

~t{. ~ C incinnali 

Environmental Protection Agency 

April 12, 

SURVIVAL OF FECAL COLIFORMS AND FECAL STREPTOCOCCI 

IN A SANITARY LANDFILL 

Janet C. Blannon and Mhdza l. Peterson"' 

BACKGROUND 

Tocluy, lund 1l isposnl is lho me>thod widC>ly U!led 

for disposing of municipul solid WIISt.c. According 

to tht> 1068 NnUnnnl Solid Wasta Sur\'('.'\', 1 only 

li rx.•rccnt of all landfill operations In the United 

States could be classified ns sanilmy hmtlrills; the 

remKinin~: 94 percent were urmcccptnble and rcptc• 

sent~ disease potential, throat of pollution, anti 

lund blicht. 

Recent studies hav<' shown thnt lg 1Jf 1'1lW rosi· 

dcnllnl solid waste contains l million or more fecal 

coliforms and fccol strcplocooci, and it m11~· hnrhor 

snlmont>llae, cntcro\·irusc>s, ami pathogenic flllll{i 

as wciJ,2•4 A major concern has bean whether or 

not tho sanitary landfill method o( solid waste dis~ 

posal permits Jlnthogenic mk·roorgnnisms to survi\'c 

and bo lronsmiUed into tho environment through tho 

leaching procasses. B<'CI\UI'IC only limited informa• 

lion Is nvailnhle on tho mierobiologir qu:1lily of 

Jnndfill leachnlt's, a study wns conductcod to determine the occunenco and survival of fecnl coliform 

and fecal streptococcus orgsnlsms In lcuchnlcs col~ 

lcclcd from an C!l;pcrirnental, fi<'td·scalc sanitar~· 

landfill during an 11-month lead1ing IJCtiod. A 

chnraciC'rization of fec.nl st.rcptococcus 1~11eS and an cvaluntion of fecal coliform to fecal f;(tC')llOl'OCCUS 

tullos were u~ctl us ctitnria for dcll.'rmining whC'thcr 

the source of pollution wa& human or nonhumnn 

warm-blooded animals. 

"'Mrs. Bl~nnnn l~ Lubor11tOt)' Tectmi<-inn, 11'11tcr Suppl}' 

Rcs~nr~:h Luhorutnry, ll,S, l·:nvir<lllmt•nllll p..,\,.~tinn 

A~ron~Y. Nntlonnl Environmcnlul ncaearch C~ntcr • Cmctn• 

nail, Ohio. 

l)r, l'<'~<'r~on lR Seniur Re•enroh Mi~·rohi<llnJ:J~l, O.S. 

~;nvlrnn111~ntnl l'mtt•ctiun fl!lrnrr, Nutiunnl ~;nvir<~unt•nlnl 

Unc11t<:h c ... ntcr, Hv~t~nrch Trhm11l<> P<~rk, North Curnhnn, 

MATERIALS AND METHODS 

Experimental landfill 

Tho landfill, which was a tronch-typc. OJX'Tillion, 

\\'OS 149 n. long by opproximntch· 30 n. wido. Tho 

trench was cXCn\'ntcd, with two \'orlicul 5idcwnlls 

and two ramps (one for cnt.rancc nntl ont> for cxill, 

sloping nppruximutc\~· I ft. vertically to i ft. hori• 

zontally, 1'hc landfill contnim.'ll 435 tonK (wct 

weight) of rcsitlenlinl solid W:t!!IO f:Om!Ja(•tC>d (() 

I ,035 lb. per cu. yd. {wet ll't•ilthU. A 11·7 ('t;J.WIC'r 

tmctor was ust'tl for comptwtion. 

SW!l/llill/1. Tho first IC'nchaiC' occurred upproxi• 

nm\.1.>1)• 6 weeks nllt•r Jllnccm!'nl of thf' lnndfill, 

Lenchatcs were collt•ct.t>d WN•kly in l,OOO.ml 

sterile botllcs from th<.' llpJX'r !JhlC, which Ia~· di.~ 

rcctly under the com'paclcd solid waste, and from 

the lower pipo, which wus located beneath an 18-in, 

clay soil llnar WigurC' l), 

laboratory Technique 

Total nnd fecAl colifornls nnd fl'Cul stf(•J)toc:cX'~·i 

were cstimntcti"by the most rwobublc numOOr (MP!\1 

mcthod,6 using the five-tube Jt'CimiquC'. Fccul 

J>trC'pt,ococci wcn• churaclcrizod h.v n method til•• 

scribed in un ~nvironmont.ul Protection Agcncy 

(EPA I training manuul.ll 

RESULTS ANO DISCUSSION 

1'hc a\'crupc densitlvs of fecal colifonus and fccnl 

itrct)toeocci in loochuiC'!I co\IC'l'lcd from the llP\WT 

tlitK' durin~:" tho 11-monlh sumpllng Jlt•riud llfl.' dt'-

pielcd in Fic:urc 2. ()nriug lhC' lnilinl 2-month 

INwhinJ: fX'rkd, IlK> fC'cnl t"ollform and fC'cnl tiltl'P"' 

turOC'ci dC"nsitit·~ U\WUgC>d l.!i million untl -t!J mil· 

linn or~:unlsms JK'f 100 ml, r!;IIIJlt•ct!wlr. Bl•Jtillning 

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"'" Hypolon lln11 

Flgufl 1. Croll stelion tlf collection eya~em fOl landiUI leachatn. 

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Flgurt 2, Aver1111 dtntltlu ol feo•l collfOfml •nd f•eel etrtplocoecl In leacliiiiU from the 1,1pper pipe. 

. with tho third month of_thc study, tho focal coliform 

density dropped sharply and rcmuinednt low vulues, 

rnnging from 30 to 180 organisms per 100 ml, for 

the last 6 months of !he study pt>riod. In contrast, 

fecal slrcptoco.:-ci ()Xccoding 10,000 organisms per 

IUO ml were lcucht.'ti clurinl! the final snmplin,g 

JX'riod, 

Tcm]X'T<L!IIr(! mt•ll!ll!t(>lli(•Uis during the nrst WC('k or the It'S( rllllllCd from 120 {(I 140 F (48.8 to ij{) (') 

in lht' middl<> SN~Ilon of thC' lundfill 12· to l.i·fl, 

depths! nnd ll"('fl' lU to 15 dc)lr<.'es !owN in the 

pc:-riphcry. After tho first week, h.•mpcrutu~s in all 

l\('Ctions of the fill underwent n gradual decline 

und t('uchC'd n range of Ml to UO F at the ('1\d of 11 

months, Or~nnisrns that occurred in lenchato!l from 

the upper pipe n.rc believed to hnve been leached 

from the pNiphcrul ot surfnce nrous of tho hmdfilled 

t>olid wn11t(' musses that were subj~X!tcd to lower 

l('m]Xlmlures, 

In lcachutcs fr<lm the lowcr·pipc, the avcrugc fecal 

coliform und fecal ~trcJllococci densities for the 

first 2-month survey period were 280,000 and 

4UO,OOO or~nnisms per 100 in\, rospodh•c\y <Flguro3), 

Focal colirorm values soon dropped to 20 or({anisn1s 

per 100 ml and romuiuoc1 conslstcnl over tha last 

2-month sun•ey tK!riod. )<'ccnl streptococci 8\'0rag• 

ing 2,900 organisms per ml wore, however, lonchcd 

from the lower plpo at tho end or the 11-month 

satnpliuu JX>rlod. 

The rclutivcl~,' Iorge nnnthors of focal «uunism;; 

in lcuchntcs from the lower pipe indicated lnsut-

'Ticicnt filtcrln!! uction from tho 18-in. c\n_v &oil 

liner under tho compuctad waste • 

Bio~·humit·nl churm·tcrlzution and percentage Ot:• 

curronco of f('cnl stroptococcus strains in <>nch 

lonchnlc sumplo collected during the lnst 2-month 

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lotol llropluoul t:::rJ 

'rAUU:2. 

Ol'CUIIIU:NCt·: Of' STR~:PTOCOCCI I~ 1.1~,\('JIAn:s• 

s ...... 

$8.33 

$. f•eca/11 blotypt II 1$.00 

Alyplc•l s, f•rulls ,..,, I,J3 

S, (BIU/i$ biO\VPI Ill S.OO 

'A"colylU col 60 ""huru 

ing the initial 5-week loachlng period, ranged from 

10 1 0.011 to 6.202 !Table 3). Studies by Geldreich and 

Kcnncr7 have t~hown that in human foonl material 

und in domestic wastewater, the fecal coliform den• 

E llim; exceed those of focnl streptococci b~· a factor 

of four to one or f:TCUlcr, \\'herons, a complete ro· 

Figure 3. Average den<les of fecal co!ifOI'rnS and fecal \'Crsa\ of the fecal coliform to f(!Cill streptococcus &lriiPtococcl in leach~tn from the lower plpa. rutlo cJ".ss than 0,{17) is sean in fecal discharges from li\'eslock or poultr~· wastes nnd in storm 

!lurvc,\' nre shown in 'l't~blcs 1 unci 2. A tolnl of liO wutcrs. Tim~:, the usc of fecal coliform to fecal 

blwptoeoc<-Us strains isolutci! from lcnchntcs wert' lilteptocm•(•i rAtio~> in lcnclmtc studies detoclcd 

exnminc>d uml chntUl'!CtiZC'.d, Qf these, 35 (58,3%) fecnJ CO\llnminnt\on of Jeachnto derived from human 

ll't're ~;tr<~im.; of S/rc/)lucoc<-us {uccrl!is \'Or. liquf'• nnd unimnl (lrigim; und suggested thnl the microbio-

{ac·icns, which nw ubiquitous in the Cll\'ironmC>nt, logic quality of leuchutcs mny be compared with 

and 5 (8,a3~~~ wcrc utypicnl strains of S. {tU'l'alis thnl of storm w:~tt•t runoff nnd ruw domestic wnstotholi1U\'l' lwcn found In association 'with V('j::Ciu!ion; wn\N, 'J'hc fccul ct;~\iform to fMnl streptococci 

Thus, rn:i.7 JX'fC(lll~ of tho slrt•ptococci il;olutcd fwm ratios must ho upplit'd cnrofull!o', hoWt'I'Cr, since 

loachates durin" the lu!!l 2 moJJ{hf; hnd no sonltury these corrolntions moy ho altered becaU!.IC of the 

significancl'. The remaining :1:),3 percent, which \'ttriou~ ccolo~icnl factors cxisling in -solid wasto 

lncludC'd S./IJC'('CIIisbiui,I'JX!~ 11 ami Ill (l2 strainsl, lundfil)l:;, 'l'hh~ possibility was illustrated in part 

S. duruns (3 strains), und S. equinus (5 struins), b,y the rapid dic-•off of fecal coliform!! and by the 

we-re indiculive or fccul cont.Ominntion from warm- 1111rvivnl of fecal streptoc-occi. Thus, the u'se of a 

blooded animals. ratio relationship for \cachutcs mny be valid only 

Focal coliform to fccnl streptococcus ratios during the lnltiul lonching period. The fecal strep-

<FC/FSl, determined in each Jcnchole snmple dur· tococcus l!!o'Stcm, inch)dlng types churactcrh;ation, 

T \llLI:: I ll\OC!If'MICAL IIEI\CTIO~S m• STREPTOCOf.,'CI I'UI T!'U ttttOM I EAC\1 TE• '· .. ' "' ' ,, 

N•.o1 G•o•lh ~ Gto•lh IB h~~ollpn ol Mvd•olroit l•''"~' Mil 

thoint '" "' 6.n; '" M•lhvl•nl K1ho1 •• $UH<I> A<ld toot l•dull P•plon s, .. l•s Natl ..• ., .. 35 + + + + + + - + + + + $. fliiCifiS v•, 1/qu•f•ci#ln~ 

1 + + + - + + - + • + - $, t .. c•lls blotvPJ U 

s + + + • + + + • + + + Alyf!h;:ll $. IHc~lls v•. 

, + + - • + - - • + + - $, fuc•lls blolyfltl\1 

3 + + + + + - - + + • - $. duritiS 

s - + - - - - • - - - - .S. ~ulnus 

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'l'Aill.t·; 3, \l\STHIHI.'T\0:-i 01-' F~:c,\t. COLWWtM:-; 

M>:D FECAL STR&PTOCOCC! IN J,EACIIAn~S FHmt 

Til F. rPPt·:H I' I PI~ 

(ollu"•~ O••• C>o•o""'/IDO"I ..... h•••······"'· hulono "'""' Hill 

1·31·71 li-61<\0' Vl><to• o.o11 

9·1·71 <11.\llt\Qf 7,91<10' 11.202 

9-13·71 21110' 7.9><\0j o.ou 

9·20-71 9i<IO, 3.31<10' 0.272 

9·27-71 3.31110° 1.701<\0' o.t9.C 

should theterore be used In addition to the fecal 

coliform system to Identify lhe origin of Jenchalc 

pollution. 

This study has shown that leachate contamination, 

if not controlled, may pollute lht> soil, tc('rcationnl 

waters, and groundwat('t and mn)' pose hnznrds to 

lhe public health. Tho study also dcmonsttnl<..-d 

the poor filtcrlniZ action of the 18-in. clay soil liner 

under the compacted solid waste, 

SUMMARY 

Lcnchntos dischnrg<'<l from snnitnry lnnclfills dur· 

ing th~ initio! 2-rnonth leaching period (2 to 4 

months ufter the< plncemcnt of the eel\) contain 

high d(>nsities of focnl colirorm~; nnd focal strept{}o 

cocci of human orh:dn and should be considered 

llOlcnlial sources of pathogenic mlcroorgllnisms. 

Continuous microhiolo~ic moultorillll uf hmchnlc 

qunlit~· based or~ tho detection of fecal pollution 

sources is indicated. 

REFERENCES 

1. Dlnck, H. J., Muhich, ,\, J., Klec, A. J,, 

llkkman, H. L., Jr., ond Vaughan, R. D., 

"Tho Nulional Solid Waste Survey; An Interim 

Report." U.S. Dep111tmont. of llcu.llh, Educa• 

tion, arid Welf111e, Cincinnoti, Ohio, 1008. 

2. Peterson, M. L., "Pathogens Associated with 

Solid Waste Processing." Open·(ile repor~ (out 

of prlnll, U.S. EnvlronmcnW.I Protection Agency, 

Cincinnati, Ohio, 1971. 

3. Spino, D. F., "Bactorlological Study of the New 

Orleans East Incinerator." Ope.n·file report lout 

of print), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

Cincinnati, Ohio, 1971. 

4. Gnby, W, L., "E\'aluution of Ucnlth flaz111ds 

Aseocioted wi~h Solid Wsstc SewtlJ:C Sludge 

Mixlut(ls," U.S. En\'ironmcntal Protection· 

Agenuy, Nulionol Envlronmontul Research 

Center- Cincinnati, Ohio, 1974. 

5. "Stondurd ~lcthods for the> Examinnlion of Wot<'r 

und Woslcwnler." American Public Health 

Associution, Washington, D.C., 197l. 

(), Kenner, D. A., ond IInley, P. C., /n "Curwnt 

Prncticc!l in Water MicrobiolO!IY•" U.S. Em·ironmental Prote<:tion 1\J:Cilt'~', Ofl'ice of Water 

Proj.rrnms, Cincinnati, Ohio, Janoury 1973. · 

7. C1cldrcich, E. E., nnd 1\cnncr, U. A., "('fin• 

ccpts of Fecal Strellk+Col·ci in Strcum· Poilu~ 

tion." JWPCF, 4, R33G-R352, 1009. 

POS111GC l.NO fEES PA~O 

UHIHD nms EHVIROHIUHUI PRDTHT!ON AmCY 

NATIONAL !HVIROHMEHTAl RESEARCM tEIIHR 

C1nt1"U\i. 0~10 U2U 

US CNVIA:QNMfNl AL PROT~C'T>ON A~~NCV 

EPA·335 

OFFICIAL SVS•NfSS 

PeNAl TV FOR f>fl>VATE VSE S.:IPO 

AN EQUII.l OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER 

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