A field study of virus removal in septic tank drainfields.

J Environ Qual

Dep. of Marine Science, Univ. of South Florida, St. Petersburg 33701, USA.

Published: May 2002

Two field studies were conducted at a research station in Tampa, Florida to assess the removal of bacteriophage PRD1 from wastewater in septic tank drainfields. Infiltration cells were seeded with PRD1 and bromide and the effects of effluent hydraulic loading rate and rainfall on virus removal were monitored. Septic tank effluent samples were collected after passage through 0.6 m of unsaturated fine sand and PRD1 was detected over an average of 67 d. Bacteriophage PRD1 breakthrough was detected at approximately the same time as bromide in all three cells except for the low-load cell (Study 1), where bromide was never detected. Log10 removals of PRD1 were 1.43 and 1.91 for the high-load cells (hydraulic loading rate = 0.063 m/d) and 2.21 for the low-load cell (hydraulic loading rate = 0.032 m/d). Virus attenuation is attributed to dispersion, dilution, and inactivation. Significant increases in PRD1 elution with rainfall were observed in the first 10 d of the study. Approximately 125 mm of rainfall caused a 1.2 log10 increase of PRD1 detected at the 0.6-m depth. Current Florida onsite wastewater disposal standards, which specify a 0.6-m distance from the drainfield to the water table, may not provide sufficient removal of viruses, particularly during the wet season.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/jeq2001.1933DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

septic tank
12
hydraulic loading
12
loading rate
12
virus removal
8
tank drainfields
8
bacteriophage prd1
8
prd1 detected
8
low-load cell
8
prd1
7
field study
4

Similar Publications

Objective: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and investigate the factors associated with intestinal parasitic diseases in children from an urban slum in Brazil.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in children living in SEWA community, an urban slum located in Araguari, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The prevalence of intestinal parasitosis was determined via stool parasitological examination by spontaneous sedimentation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Comparative efficacy of anaerobic digestion systems in removing antimicrobial resistance genes from swine wastewater.

J Hazard Mater

December 2024

Technology Innovation Center for Food Safety Surveillance and Detection (Hainan), Sanya Institute of China Agricultural University, Sanya 572025, China; National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address:

Swine farm wastewater is a major reservoir of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). Anaerobic digestion (AD), widely implemented in farms, has been extensively studied for ARG removal. However, a comparative study on ARG removal efficiency across the four principal AD systems - up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB), continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR), buried biogas digester (BBD), and septic tank (SPT) - is lacking.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

THE EFFECTS OF TECHNICAL STEPS USED IN EXISTING SANITATION HELMINTH TEST METHODS ON ASCARIS SUUM EGG RECOVERY FROM PIG FECES.

J Parasitol

December 2024

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Research and Development Centre, Howard College Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa.

Many technical aspects are associated with helminth egg isolation and enumeration that affect how efficiently eggs are recovered from samples. This study investigated Ascaris egg recoverability when samples were washed with or without pressure, and from different sample types (water, effluent, ventilated improved pit latrine [VIP], urine diversion dry toilet [UDDT], dried, fatty, and septic tank sludges, and soil) when processed with water, ammonium bicarbonate, and 7X®. We also looked at egg recovery after flotation with zinc sulfate, magnesium sulfate, and sodium nitrate at specific gravities of 1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Onsite wastewater systems (OWSs) can be significant sources of nutrients and E. coli to water resources, potentially resulting in water quality degradation especially during times of malfunction. An OWS is considered malfunctioning when septic tank effluent is discharged into drainfield trenches during periods when there is insufficient separation to groundwater (<30 cm), when wastewater upwells to the surface, or when backup of wastewater into the tank or home occurs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Effects of Polyethylene Terephthalate Microplastics on Anaerobic Mono-Digestion and Co-Digestion of Fecal Sludge from Septic Tank.

Molecules

October 2024

Beijing Key Laboratory of Resource-Oriented Treatment of Industrial Pollutants, School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Xueyuan Road No. 30, Beijing 100083, China.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is one of the most significant processes for treating fecal sludge. However, a substantial amount of microplastics (MPs) have been identified in septic tanks, and it remains unclear whether they impact the resource treatment of feces. To investigate this, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was used as an indicator of MPs to study their effect on the anaerobic digestion of fecal sludge (FS).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!