You are here:
DESTRUCTION OF FRANCISELLA TULARENSIS AND YERSINIA PESTIS PERSISTENCE OF BACILLUS ANTHRACIS SPORES AND CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM IN MUNICIPAL SOLID LANDFILL LEACHATES
Citation:
DAVIS-HOOVER, W. J., M. WADE, T. BIGGS, AND P. G. KOGA. DESTRUCTION OF FRANCISELLA TULARENSIS AND YERSINIA PESTIS PERSISTENCE OF BACILLUS ANTHRACIS SPORES AND CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM IN MUNICIPAL SOLID LANDFILL LEACHATES. Presented at Fourth Intercontinental Landfill Research Symposium, Gällivare (Lapland), SWEDEN, June 14 - 16, 2006.
Impact/Purpose:
information
Description:
The United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) in collaboration with the Department of Defense Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) are evaluating the permanence of biological and chemical warfare agents in municipal solid waste landfills. Research into the permanence of the 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 will be determined by looking at the transport and the activation status of the agent. The mediums of escape from a landfill, according to likelihood, would be leachate, leachate discharge to wastewater treatment plant, air, groundwater, soil, and waste. Laboratory studies of the fate of biological agents in landfill leachate have been completed. Francisella tularensis could not be recovered after 7 weeks at 37oC or 12oC. Yersinia pestis, could not be recovered after 2 and 6 weeks at 37oC and 12oC, respectively. However at 12oC and 37oC, spores of Bacillus anthracis and Clostridium botulinum have been found to survive in leachate for prolonged periods of time.