Assessment of fungal bioaerosol emission in the vicinity of a landfill site in Mumbai, India

Mumbai is one of the metropolitan cities of India with population of 12.4 million. Local governing authority of Mumbai is facing challenges of solid waste management generated in the city in recent years. Municipal solid waste of the city is disposed in the two open landfill sites which are located in the city. Unhygienic disposal of solid waste is a potential threat to the people living in the vicinity of the dumpsite areas. The present investigation is based on the concentration of fungal bioaerosol around the Deonar landfill site, which is one of the major landfills in Mumbai. Maximum concentration of fungal bioaerosol was observed in monsoon season (620-1450 cfu/m3) and minimum in winter season (430-740 cfu/m3). During summer fungal bioaerosol concentration was 570-1000 cfu/m3. Environmental factors such as relative humidity and wind speed shows positive correlation with culturable aeromycoflora. Prevalent species registered were Aspergillus, Peniciliium, Alternaria, Curvularia, Trichoderma and Rhizopus.