TITLE:
Assessment of Bacteria, Morphological Characteristics, and Elemental Composition of Dust Fallout
AUTHORS:
Priskila N. Mweendi, Festus S. Shafodino, Zivuku Munyaradzi, Lamech M. Mwapagha
KEYWORDS:
Dust fallout, Arandis, Microbial Composition, Heavy Metals, and Pollution Indices
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.11 No.8,
August
25,
2023
ABSTRACT: Dust fallout can have diverse impacts ranging from major health problems
to environmental concerns. It can harbour disease-causing microorganisms and
toxic heavy metals, and it is therefore critical to establish the microbial and
the mineral compositions of the dust fallout in a particular site and elucidate
the possible related health implications for humans and the entire environment.
In this study, dust fallout samples were collected from Arandis, a town in the Erongo region (Namibia), using the American Society for Testing and Materials standard method
(ASTM D1739) for collection and analysis of dust fallout (settleable
particulate matter). The identification of present viable bacteria was done
through culturing and isolation techniques and the morphological
characteristics, and the elemental composition of the dust fallout were
determined using the Stereomicroscope and the X-ray fluorescence, respectively.
The results showed that the most dominant bacteria contained in the fallout
dust were the Bacillus species. The morphological characterisation
revealed that the present particles were mixed black, brownish, greenish, and
crystal particles with irregular, cubical, flocks and flake shapes. The
elemental investigations indicated that the dust fallout contained Hg, As, Fe,
Ni, Cr, Mn, Al and Pb occurring in varying concentrations and the status of
pollution of the dust fallout ranged from low to severe concerning the
inconsistent heavy metal indices that are the contamination factor, pollution
load index and the enrichment factor.