The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires
validation of the performance of ultraviolet (UV) reactors
used by public water systems for controlling
pathogens such as Cryptosporidium. U.S. water suppliers
validate reactors using coliphage MS2 as the challenge
surrogate, but MS2 is significantly more UV-resistant
than Cryptosporidium.
To identify a surrogate microbe with a UV
dose-response similar to that of Cryptosporidium, this
research determined the dose-responses of 10 bacteriophages
and investigated the stability of the phages in
groundwaters in the presence and absence of three UV
absorbers. Results indicated that T7 and SP8 demonstrated
UV dose-responses nearly identical to that of
Cryptosporidium; Q? was more resistant than Cryptosporidium
but less so than MS2. Use of a surrogate
that has a UV dose-response similar to the target
organism offers several advantages, including better
estimation of the required reduction equivalent dose;
reduction in the required size of UV reactors; and
decreased capital, operations, and maintenance costs
for utilities. Includes 29 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. 99 - No. 3 |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 360 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 10 |
| Published : | 03/01/2007 |
