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KINETICS OF THM AND HAA PRODUCTION IN A SIMULATED DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
Citation:
Rossman*, L A., R. A. Brown, AND J. R. Nuckols. KINETICS OF THM AND HAA PRODUCTION IN A SIMULATED DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. Presented at Presentation and Proceeding 1999 AWWA Water Quality Technology Conference, Tampa, FL, 11/1-3/99.
Description:
Limited data exist on how the growth of halogenated disinfection by-products (DBPs) is affected by time spent in a distribution system. such information is needed to estimate human exposures to these chemicals for both regulatory analyses and epidemiological studies. Current methods to evaluate DBP growth use the "Simulated Distribution System" (SDS) test or similar procedures. These methods simply incubate a sample of chlorinated water in a glass bottle for a specified holding time. They do not necessarily reflect the reaction conditions that treated water would see in traveling through a distrubiton system, particularly one with metallic pipes that experience corrosion, scale formation, and biofilm buildup.
The objective of the work described here was to measure the rate of formation of two classes of DBPs in a simulated pipe environment and compare it with rates observed for the same water held in glass bottles. The DBPs studied were trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids, both of which are currently regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under its Disinfectants/Disinfection By-Products Rule. The simulated pipe environment was designed to replicate actual flow conditions within a ductile iron pipe that had been subject to significant corrosion and biofilm buildup.