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This study characterized Bacillus globigii (BG) as a Bacillus anthracis Sterne (BAS) surrogate for wastewater treatment-related studies of UV inactivation, adsorption onto powdered activated carbon (PAC), and bioaerosol emission. The inactivation of BG was faster than that of BAS...

Legionella pneumophila (Lp) is an opportunistic drinking water pathogen that can cause infections through the inhalation of Lp-containing aerosols. Lp can occur in premise plumbing systems as these systems often have low disinfection residual, high surface area-to-volume ratios, ...

Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of steam heat for inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 when applied to materials common in mass transit installations. Methods and Results: SARS CoV-2 (USA-WA1/2020) was resuspended in either cell culture media or synthetic sali...

The project team evaluated the device at multiple wavelengths to assess optimal performance under specific conditions for select contaminants and a suite of contaminants.  This collaboration focused on the following:  - Reactor optimization and flow scale-up,  - Mo...

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised awareness in the spread of disease via airborne transmission. As a result, there has been increasing interest in technologies that claim to reduce concentrations of airborne pathogens in indoor environments. The efficacy of many of these emerging ...

Ricin is a highly toxic protein that is produced from the castor bean plant.  Incidents with using ricin as a terrorist weapon have become more commonplace in recent years. This study examined a technique (Low Concentration Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor; LCHPV) to decontaminate ma...

For the past several years, the Office of Research and Development (ORD), US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSDGC) have been investigating the use of peracetic acid (PAA) as an alternative to chlorination and ultr...

This investigation examined the impact of four liquid sporicidal decontaminants (used for Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) spore inactivation) on metals, plastics and laminates.  In addition, the study evaluated the material compatibility with small equipment, i.e., electrical switch...

This technical brief is a summary of US EPA research publications providing input to solving the technical challenges involved with remediating a large urban area following a contamination incident involving spores of B. anthracis, the causative biological agent for anthrax disea...

Legionella pneumophila (Lp) is an opportunistic pathogen that causes respiratory infections primarily through inhalation of contaminated aerosols.  Lp can colonize premise plumbing systems due to favorable growth conditions (e.g., lower disinfectant residual, stagnation, war...

Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the decontamination efficacy of liquid formaldehyde solutions in various soil types against spores of Bacillus anthracis (B.a.) and potential surrogate spore Bacillus atrophaeus (B.g.). Methods and Results: B.a. and B.g. were inocu...

Ultraviolet-C (UVC) radiation has long been used to disinfect air, water, and surfaces. The COVID-19 pandemic has recently raised interest in using UVC devices as an alternative approach for disinfecting surfaces and materials, as an increasing number of UVC devices come to marke...

An outdoor, wide area release of a persistent biological agent has the potential to significantly disrupt society. An unexplored aspect of consequence management is the need to minimize risk from immediate and delayed exposure to low concentrations of a biological agent transport...

Although SARS-CoV-2 is primarily an airborne risk, the COVID-19 pandemic also highlighted the need for self-disinfection surfaces that could withstand the demand of high occupant densities characteristic of public transportation systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ...

This study utilizes organism viability to evaluate the persistence of three pathogen surrogates in bio-contaminated wastewater using a pilot-scale activated sludge treatment (AST) system, operated to perform like a large-scale wastewater treatment process. The persistence of high...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Homeland Security Research Program (HSRP) conducts research to detect, respond to, and recover from the impacts of terrorist attacks, accidental contamination and natural disasters on the nation's water and wastewater infrastruct...

The Analysis for Coastal Operational Resiliency (AnCOR) program is an interagency collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the United States Coast Guard (USCG). The overall purpose of this multi-agency pr...

This website update provides a summary of efficacy testing with the RGF Photohydroionization® (PHI) technology in a large aerosol test chamber with a recirculating HVAC system. The unit's efficacy was evaluated against aerosolized MS2 (a bacteriophage).

Second update to the ORD CoVID-19 Environmental Research website on UVC disinfection.

The overall goal of this project is to provide the general public, emergency responders, and healthcare workers with initial information on the effectiveness of selected disinfection/cleaning technologies and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products for the disinfection/cleaning ...

This presentation summarizes the results of lab studies on the inactivation of UVC light against SARS-CoV-2 and two surrogate viruses as well as results from a field study in collaboration with LA Metro that measured UVC doses at various locations in a metro car outfitted with UV...

In the event of a wide-area release of Bacillus anthracis spores, soils and other outdoor materials may become contaminated with the biological agent. A study was conducted to assess the in-situ remediation of soil using a dry thermal treatment approach to inactivate a B. anthrac...

This presentation will discuss results from Legionella pneumophila inactivation experiments using UV light emitting diodes (LEDs) as an emerging water treatment technology to control risks from various water-based pathogens.

In 2018, while renewing the permit for Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati’s (MSDGC) Mill Creek Treatment Plant (MCTP), the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) made key changes. These changes included replacing fecal coliforms with E. coli as the monitoring ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the role that airborne transmission can play in the spread of disease. Consequently, there has been an increasing focus on technologies that claim to reduce or eliminate aerosolized pathogens in indoor occupied spaces. There are many differen...