Background SARS-CoV-2 is the virus responsible for the current global pandemic, COVID-19. Because this virus is novel, little is known about its sensitivity to disinfection. Methods We performed suspension tests against SARS-CoV-2 using three commercially available quaternary ammonium compound (Quat) disinfectants and one laboratory-made 0.2% benzalkonium chloride solution. Findings Three of the four formulations completely inactivated the virus within 15 s of contact, even in the presence of a soil load or when diluted in hard water. Conclusion Quats rapidly inactivate SARS-CoV-2, making them potentially useful for controlling SARS-CoV-2 spread in hospitals and the community.

Blood trihalomethanes (THMs) and urinary haloacetic acids (HAAs) are the leading candidate biomarkers for disinfection byproduct (DBP) exposure. However, no studies have assessed the exposure profiles, temporal variability, and potential predictors of these biomarkers during pregnancy. Here we collected blood (n = 4304) and urine samples (n = 4165) from 1760 Chinese pregnant women during early, mid-, and late pregnancy, which were separately analyzed for 4 THMs and 2 HAAs. We calculated the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) to assess the variability of these biomarkers and estimated their correlations with sociodemographic, water-use behavioral, dietary and sample collection factors using mixed models. The median concentrations of TCM, BDCM, Br-THMs [sum of BDCM, dibromochloromethane (DBCM), bromoform (TBM)], total THMs (TTHMs, sum of TCM and Br-THMs), DCAA and TCAA in the water distribution system were 4.2 μg/L, 1.7 μg/L, 2.9 μg/L, 7.1 μg/L, 3.4 μg/L and 8.2 μg/L, respectively. Chloroform (TCM), bromodichloromethane (BDCM), dichloroacetic acid (DCAA) and trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) were detected in > 75% of the biospecimens. Repeated measurements of blood TCM, BDCM, Br-THMs and TTHMs and urinary DCAA and TCAA uniformly exhibited high variability (ICCs = 0.01–0.13); the use of a single measurement to classify gestational average exposure resulted in a high degree of exposure misclassification. The sampling season was a strong predictor of all analyzed DBPs. Additionally, we detected a positive association of blood TCM and BDCM with household income, urinary DCAA with age, and urinary TCAA with tap water usage, education level and amount of tap water consumed. Inverse associations were found between blood BDCM and vegetable consumption, and between blood Br-THM and TTHM and time interval since the last bathing/showering. Afternoon samples had lower DCAA concentrations than did early morning samples. Our results indicate that blood THM and urinary HAA concentrations vary greatly over the course of pregnancy and are affected by sampling season, time of day of blood/urine collection, sociodemographic factors, recent water-use activities and dietary intake.

Thesis (MTech (Chemistry))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / The release of wastewater to the aquatic environment is most likely to introduce some trace levels of organic contaminants, some of which may be toxic, carcinogenic, or endocrine disruptors, as well as, persistent in the environment. Additionally, increasing contamination of surface waters by wastewater effluents has made water treatment processes more challenging and expensive. The presence of these pollutants in the receiving water body may have negative effects on aquatic species and often pose potential human health risks through the reuse of treated wastewater for drinking purposes and other household use. In countries like South Africa, Namibia, USA, Singapore and Australia, water agencies are intensifying wastewater reclamation/wastewater reuse as part of their water resource agenda: in order to meet the demands of the growing populations. Nowadays, water reuse is generally considered as a viable method of water supply management. This study focused on the identification of the occurrence, quantification of emerging contaminants and evaluation of removal efficiency in wastewater treatment processes of three classes of emerging contaminants (ECs) in wastewater: 1) six types of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), namely; perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), Perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUDA); 2) bisphenol A (BPA); and 3) Acetaminophen (ACP). These contaminants were identified and quantified in four wastewater treatment plants in the Western Cape. These treatment plants include three WWTPs in Cape Town, namely: Bellville WWTP, Scottsdene WWTP and Zandvliet WWTP and one WWTP in the central Karoo (Beaufort West wastewater reclamation plant).

In this research, a household water treatment system was built and evaluated as a trial for improving the drinking water quality of the Nile River for the low-income communities. The system consisted of household-scale slow sand filters, and transparent polyethylene terephthalate-bottles for solar disinfection. The evaluation of the system depended on the removal/inactivation of some surrogates for the reference pathogens, and turbidity. The reference pathogens are pathogens specified by the World Health Organization to evaluate the efficiency of the household water treatment options. They were chosen to represent the classes of pathogens in water (bacteria, viruses, protozoa). The surrogates used in the evaluation of the system are Escherichia coli (E.coli), Clostridium perfringens and Escherichia coli bacteriophage (MS2). The candidate surrogates are also specified by the World Health Organization. The designed household-scale slow sand filter was very efficient in removing the different turbidity levels to ≤0.4NTU. The evaluated system is classified as highly protective because it was able to achieve higher than 4 log removal for E.coli and Clostridium perfringens, and higher than 5 log removal for MS2.

Continuous increases in the interest and implementation of wastewater reuse due to intensified water stress has escalated the concerns of emerging contaminants. Among emerging contaminants there are microbial (antibiotic resistance) and chemical (pharmaceuticals) elements which have been shown to survive wastewater treatment. This dissertation aims to mitigate emerging contaminants by means of understanding and/or developing the appropriate disinfection strategies, with the intention to provide knowledge that would facilitate towards safe and sustainable water reuse. The first part of this thesis explored microbial risk component of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance genes are abundant in treated wastewater, and only pose a risk if taken up by potential pathogens through natural transformation. Our results showed that solar irradiation can double natural transformation rates, mediated by reactive oxygen species generation, which led to upregulation in DNA repair and competence genes in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1. Treatment with UV-C254 nm irradiation also resulted in upregulation in DNA repair genes, nevertheless we observed a decrease in natural transformation rates. These results imply that direct damage of antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) could inhibit their spread and therefore risk, despite other factors contributing to the contrary. The next chapter in this dissertation postulated that the UV/H2O2 combination would be ideal to treat microbial and chemical emerging contaminants in effluent generated from an anaerobic membrane bioreactor. We demonstrated that at an optimal UV intensity and H2O2 concentration, we were able to achieve a 2 and 6-log reduction of the two antibiotic resistance genes and bacteria and used in this study, respectively, and more than 90% removal of the three pharmaceutical compounds. These observations suggest that UV/H2O2 has great potential in treating effluent with high nitrogen concentrations, preserving the fertilization benefit of AnMBR effluent. Overall, this dissertation revealed the potential of UV-based treatments for treated wastewater intended for reuse. Post-membrane processes effluent allows one to deploy UV-C254 nm to selectively target DNA and therefore ARB and ARG that may be still present in the treated wastewater. At the same time, coupling chemical oxidants with UV-C (i.e., UV AOP) would further enhance the means to simultaneously oxidize and degrade potentially harmful chemical contaminants.

Die Kryptosporidiose des Kalbes stellt eine orale Infektion mit dem obligat pathogenen Erreger Cryptosporidium parvum dar. Sie verursacht hauptsächlich bei Jungtieren unterschiedlich schwere und zuweilen tödlich verlaufende Diarrhoe. Zur Analyse einer integrierten Bekämpfungsmaßnahme unter den Bedingungen einer natürlichen Infektionsexposition wurden 123 Kälber eines landwirtschaftlichen Nutzbetriebes in Thüringen untersucht. Die Tiere wurden in zwei Gruppen randomisiert nach ihrem Geburtstermin aufgeteilt. Der Gruppe H+ waren 62 Tiere zugehörig welche in den ersten sieben Lebenstagen Halofuginon in einer Dosis von 120 µg/kg KGW oral verabreicht bekamen und in Neopredisan® desinfizierten Buchten aufgestallt wurden. Gruppe H- stellte mit 61 Kälbern die unbehandelte Kontrolle dar, deren Buchten ausschließlich mittels Hochdruckreinigung gesäubert wurden. Alle Tiere wurden in den ersten vier Lebenswochen gewogen beginnend am ersten Lebenstag. In der 25. Lebenswoche fand eine zusätzliche Gewichtsbestimmung statt wobei die Tiere der H+ Gruppe im Mittel um 5,8 kg (p>0,05) schwerer waren als H- Tiere. Die Kälber beider Gruppen wurden in den ersten vier Lebenswochen jeden dritten Lebenstag hinsichtlich der Oozystenausscheidung, des Ernährungszustandes, des Trinkverhaltens, des Dehydratationsgrades und der Körpertemperatur untersucht. Zusätzlich wurde die Lunge auskultiert und die Konsistenz der Kotproben beurteilt. Durch die Halofuginonbehandlung und der zusätzlichen Desinfektion fand in der H+ Gruppe eine signifikante Senkung der Oozystenausscheidung bis zum 10. Lebenstag statt, jedoch waren die Tiere nach Absetzen der Behandlung für eine Infektion voll empfänglich. Das Auftreten von Diarrhoe zeigte eine positive Korrelation zur Oozystenanzahl untersuchter Kotproben. Die Anzahl an Tagen mit Durchfall korrelierte positiv und signifikant mit der Oozystenausscheidung. Für den Ernährungszustand, das Trinkverhalten, der Körpertemperatur sowie weitere klinischer Parameter bestand zu keiner Zeit eine signifikante Beziehung zur Kryptosporidiose. Damit erwies sich die integrierte Bekämpfung aus Halofuginonbehandlung und gezielter Desinfektion im für die Kälber kritischen Zeitraum der ersten zwei Lebenswochen als überaus effektiv. Allerdings muß bei derart geschützten Kälbern anschließend aufgrund einer offensichtlich nicht ausreichenden Immunisierung mit einer höheren Empfänglichkeit für C. parvum gerechnet werden.

USEPA regulations of Disinfection By-Products (DBPs) require water suppliers to be in compliance with maximum contaminant levels set by the agency’s Stage 2 DBP Rule. Controlling watershed sources of byproduct precursors are of interest to water suppliers. By-product formation potential and DOC (dissolved organic carbon) character were evaluated at eight sites on four dates (n=32). All sites are within Springfield Water and Sewer Commission’s Cobble Mountain Reservoir watershed (Blandford and Granville, Ma). The goal was to investigate how DBPFP (DBP formation potential) changes in relation to landscape driven changes in DOC chemical characteristics. Analysis was performed on raw water samples using UV-Visible Spectroscopy. 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) were performed on solid phase extractable (SPE-C18) hydrophobic DOC. Changes in DBPFP are related to landscape changes in hydrophobic DOC characteristics. On three of the four sample dates (n=24) DBPFP was positively correlated to the E2:E3 ratio (R2=.37), SUVA (R2=.72), percent aromatic resonance (R2=.60), and percent carbohydrate resonance (R2=.44). DBPFP on three sample dates (n=24) was negatively correlated to percent aliphatic resonance (R2=.48). DOC aromaticity, SUVA and specific formation potential were lowest in headwater streams and increased with distance downstream. Substantial reductions in DOC concentration are seen upon reservoir export. For most parameters headwater in-stream variability was greater than inter-stream variability. Differences among headwater streams of different forest type are not distinguishable in our small sample size (n=12). Only slight differences in specific formation potential were observed among two different depth samples in Cobble Mountain Reservoir. Our results have implications for watershed management practices in the drinking water supply industry of New England.

<div><p></p><p><i>Key Question: How to develop technologies to understand and solve a multi-scale global crisis resulting from rapid transmission of contagious respiratory viruses in pandemic phases?</i></p> <p>A two-pronged approach to optimize the existing solutions and combat the DIRECT and INDIRECT transmission of respiratory pathogens.</p> <p>• I. Optimization of multiple layers in a filter/ mask with physical – biochemical properties</p> <p>• II. Characterization of surfaces based on best parameters for disinfection using electrostatic deposition </p> <p> </p><br><p></p></div>

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