Air Pollution by Microbial Bioaerosols around Some Landfills in Bamako

In the city of Bamako in Mali, there are more than a dozen waste dumps. These dumps are located in the heart of different neighbourhoods and in the city centre close to homes, shops, markets and other important public places. Within the landfills, the biochemical reactions of the different materials cause several nuisances and pollution, including air pollution by microorganisms. Residents living near landfills are the first identified victims of potential risks from microbial bioaerosols in the air around landfills. This study is consisted to determine the average concentrations of microbial germs contained in the air around some Bamako landfills. Microbial cultures on agar media were carried out in order to count the different microbial concentrations. The highest average concentration of total mesophilic bacteria obtained in the air samples during the two campaigns was 502 CFU/m3. Among the bacteria, the most frequent found in the air with average concentrations above 200 CFU/m3 were Bacillus cereus (354 and 213 CFU/m3), Clostridium perfringens (379 and 367 CFU/m3) and staphylococcus germs (218 and 391 CFU/m3). Only the samples taken during the first campaign have an average Mycobacterium concentration greater than 200 CFU/m3 of air. Low densities of microscopic fungi were also found in the vicinity of landfills. Regardless of their loadings, these microbial bioaerosols cause a threat to public health, especially the health of residents near landfills and workers on landfills.