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PERSISTENCE AND DESTRUCTION OF BIOLOGICAL AGENTS OF MASS DESTRUCTION IN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILL LEACHATES
Citation:
DAVIS-HOOVER, W. J. PERSISTENCE AND DESTRUCTION OF BIOLOGICAL AGENTS OF MASS DESTRUCTION IN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILL LEACHATES. Presented at National Homeland Security Research Center Science Retreat, Atlanta, GA, January 25 - 27, 2007.
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
Research into the permanence of final disposal of the inactivated or active agents of terrorism must be examined by looking at the fate of various agents in the most likely medium of escape. Fate is determined by looking at the transport and the activation status. The likely escape mediums from a landfill would be leachate, leachate discharge to wastewater treatment plant, air, groundwater, soil, and waste. Although hopefully weapons would not survive in landfill leachates, the persistence of some of these agents must be considered before deciding to place them into municipal solid waste landfills. However, landfills are never sterile or risk free. Thus the concentration of agent, infective and lethal doses, and likelihood of exposure to a sensitive population must be taken into account. Many of the laboratory studies of the fate of biological agents in municipal solid waste landfill leachate have been completed by the laboratory studies ofthe fate of biological agents in municipal solid waste landfill leachate have been completed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development National Homeland Security Research Center with the Department of Defense Edgewood Chemical Biological Center. At 12 and 37oC incubations (soil and human body temperatures), spores of Bacillus anthracis and Clostridium botulinum have been found to survive in raw municipal solid waste leachates for prolonged periods. However, the vegetative cells Francisella tularensis cannot be recovered after 7 weeks at both temperatures, while Yersinia pestis cannot be recovered after 2 and 6 weeks at 37 and 12oC, respectively. The quest for the fate of other agents, especially viral, will be discussed.