Physicochemical and Microbiological Characterization of Effluents from the Mohammed VI University Hospital in Marrakech and Study of Their Impact on the Environment

Water pollution from sewage has become a subject of considerable public and scientific concern, given its demon-strated extreme toxicity to human health and biological ecosystems. Hospital wastewater poses a serious health risk to staff, the public, and the environment. This study was conducted to determine the physical, chemical and biological parameters of hospital wastewater from Mohammed VI University Hospital in Marrakech, which is discharged into the municipal sewage system, where it mixes with sewage from urban areas without prior treatment. This study was conducted between October 2022 and January 2023 with a sampling frequency of 15 days each. Hospital wastewater samples were collected at the main collector of all manholes in the hospital.Physicochemical characterization of the effluents from each department showed that they are heavily polluted with organic matter, with average values in the range of 750 mg/L COD, 512.14 mg/L BOD5 and 879.86 mg /L TSS. These values are higher than those recom-mended in the Moroccan discharge standards. Total phosphorus, sulfates, nitrates and nitrites are 5.92 mg/L, 427.97 mg/L, 7.39 mg/L and 0.60 mg/L, respectively. Bacteriological characterization shows that fecal coliform bacteria reach 12×106 CFU/100 mL. These effluents also contain pathogens responsible for nosocomial infections, especially Staphylococcus aureus. The ratio COD / BOD5 is about 1.46, a value indicating that hospital wastewater is readily biodegradable. Therefore, proper treatment of these hospital effluents is essential due to their physicochemical and pathogenic bacterial load, which can negatively affect public health and carry the risk of spreading epidemic diseases.

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Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MEiN, umowa nr SONP/SP/546092/2022 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki i promocja sportu (2022-2023).