Science Inventory

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Atmospheric water harvesting can provide a high-quality water source for potable or non-potable applications.  However, like other water sources, collected condensate must be managed appropriately to prevent microbial growth.  Of particular concern are opportunistic pathogens suc...

Many factors, including microbiome structure and activity in the drinking water distribution system (DWDS), affect the colonization potential of opportunistic pathogens. The present study aims to describe the dynamics of active bacterial communities in DWDS and identify the facto...

Legionella pneumophila is a persistent opportunistic pathogen that poses a significant threat to domestic water systems. Previous studies suggest that copper (Cu) is an effective antimicrobial in water systems. A rapid and sensitive quantification method is desired to optimize th...

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, ...

The plumbing systems of buildings are often found to contain opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs) such as Legionella, nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), and Pseudomonas with the potential to cause waterborne diseases. The objective of this study is to characterize mic...

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...

Opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs) have been detected in buildings’ plumbing systems causing waterborne disease outbreaks in the United States. In this study, we monitored the occurrence of OPPPs along with free-living amoeba (FLA) and investigated the effects of re...

Context:  Legionella pneumophila is the etiologic agent responsible for causing >90% of legionellosis cases in the United States.  Legionellosis transmission primarily happens by the inhalation or aspiration of contaminated water aerosols or droplets. Therefore, methods are neede...

Background: Legionellosis is a respiratory infection caused by Legionella pneumophila bacteria that are found in water and soil. Infection may cause severe pneumonia (Legionnaires’ Disease) and milder illness (Pontiac Fever) and is a particular concern for the elderly. Legi...

Onsite collection of air conditioning (AC) condensate can provide significant quantities of water for non-potable applications such as cooling towers and landscape irrigation.  While generally considered a high-quality source, empirical studies of condensate water quality to...

The lack of widely available methods for distinguishing and quantifying organic chloramines has raised concerns for maintaining effective disinfectant residuals in chloraminated drinking water distribution systems (CDWDSs). This study provided quantitative estimation of dichloram...

Opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs) are frequently detected in the plumbing systems of large buildings. There are three major OPPPs such as Legionella pneumophila, three nontuberculous mycobacterial species (NTM) (e.g., Mycobacterium avium, M. intracellulare, and M. ...

Residential buildings exhibit characteristics of large surface area to volume ratio, reduced disinfectant levels, intermittent stagnation, and diverse plumbing surfaces. These characteristics provide a conducive environment for microbial proliferation and growth within plumbing s...

Legionellosis prevalence is increasing in the United States. This disease is caused primarily by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila found in water and transmitted by the inhalation of aerosols. This pathogen has a slow growth rate and can “hide” in amoeba, making it difficult t...

*This is a repeat of the 8/22/22 meeting for additional attendees* Presentation to the project team for Water Reuse Action Plan Action 4.5 related to air conditioning condensate collection and use.  The presentation will summarize preliminary results of our condensate water ...

In 2012, a full-scale home plumbing system (HPS) simulating water usage by a family of four people was constructed at the EPA’s Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center. This poster shows three published research papers. The poster explains the additions to the s...

Presentation to the project team for Water Reuse Action Plan Action 4.5 related to air conditioning condensate collection and use.  The presentation will summarize preliminary results of our condensate water quality study characterizing opportunistic pathogens and metals across 1...

Built environments, such as occupational buildings are designed to reduce the uncontrolled growth of microbial populations. These modifications inadvertently shape the ecology and evolution of the microbiome. The current study focused on the monitoring of the water quality and mi...

Aim:  Legionella pneumophila, causative agent for legionellosis, can be transmitted through residences’ and office buildings’ premises hot water plumbing. Method and Results: Using qPCR, L. pneumophila, and L. pneumophila Serogroup (Sg)1 were measured in potable water samples fr...

Periods of lowered to zero occupancy can be challenging for occupational building systems and may increase the risk of water system failures and other hazards for occupants. Water stagnation can lead to reduced water quality including presence of opportunistic pathogens (includin...

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...

State and local government officials issued shelter-in-place recommendations (“social distancing”) and recommended the closing or reduced operation of buildings to stop the global pandemic caused by novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). During this time, unoccupied and low-occupa...

Opportunistic pathogens (OPs) are natural inhabitants and the predominant disease causative biotic agents in municipal engineered water systems (EWSs). In EWSs, OPs occur at high frequencies and concentrations, cause drinking-water-related disease outbreaks, and are a major facto...

Water-based opportunistic pathogens (OPs) are a leading cause of drinking-water-related disease outbreaks, especially in developed countries such as the United States (US). Physicochemical water quality parameters, especially disinfectant residuals, control the (re)growth, presen...

The presentation reviews technolgies used in treating buildings.