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MODEL OF VIRUS TRANSPORT IN UNSATURATED SOIL
Citation:
Yates, M., S. Yates, AND Y. Ouyang. MODEL OF VIRUS TRANSPORT IN UNSATURATED SOIL. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/2-91/062 (NTIS PB92199957), 1991.
Description:
As a result of the recently-proposed mandatory ground-water disinfection requirements to inactivate viruses in potable water supplies, there has been increasing interest in virus fate and transport in the subsurface. everal models have been developed to predict the fate of viruses in ground water, but few include transport in the unsaturated zone, and all require a constant virus inactivation rate. hese are serious limitations in the models, as it has been shown that considerable virus removal occurs in the unsaturated zone, and inactivation rate of viruses is dependent on environmental conditions. he purpose of this research was to develop a predictive model of virus fate and transport in unsaturated soils that allows the virus inactivation rate to vary based on changes in soil temperature. he model was developed based on the law of mass conservation of a contaminant in porous media and couples the flow of water, viruses, and heat through the soil. odel predictions were compared to measured data of virus transport in laboratory column studies, and were within the 95- confidence limits of the measured concentrations. odel simulations were performed to identify variables that have a large effect on the results.