Full Description

Using and selecting microbial surrogatesto validate ultraviolet (UV)reactor performance can be a challengingprospect. Water suppliersmust recognize both the importance of therelative UV dose-response of the surrogateand target organism and the limitationsinherent in using surrogates.This study set out to improve the industry'sunderstanding of how MS2 coliphagecan be used as a bioassay surrogate for thewaterborne pathogen Cryptosporidiumparvum. Side-by-side MS2 andCryptosporidium bioassays were performedto directly link MS2 and Cryptosporidiuminactivation. Although MS2 proved to be areasonable test organism to validate UVreactor performance, it provided a veryconservative estimate of the inactivationthat can be achieved with organisms thatare very sensitive to UV, such asCryptosporidium. A more-sensitive testorganism would allow much higher levels ofinactivation to be validated. Water utilitiesshould carefully consider how conservativetheir test pathogens must be to meet healthprotection goals in the most cost-effectivemanner. Includes 9 references, tables, figures.

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Edition: Vol. 94 - No. 2 Published: 02/01/2002 Number of Pages: 8File Size: 1 file , 390 KB