AWWA QTC97036

The US Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of developing the Groundwater Disinfection Rule (GWDR). In order to establish "natural disinfection" criteria for the GWDR that are protective of public health, it is necessary to have quantitative information on the length of time that viruses can remain infective as well as the distance they can be transported in the subsurface. There are many factors that influence sorption and inactivation of viruses in the subsurface environment including the effect of soil water content on virus retention and survival, which has received limited study to date. The objective of this research was to determine the role that unsaturated flow conditions play in virus sorption and inactivation in soils. Column flow experiments were conducted under both saturated and unsaturated flow conditions using two bacteriophages and two porous materials, Ottawa sand and a sandy soil. A virus transport and fate model was used to evaluate the sorption and inactivation characteristics of the viruses.

Product Details

Published:

01/01/1997

ISBN(s):

0898679583

Number of Pages:

14

File Size:

1 file , 190 KB