The Environmental Biotechnology Lab
Rethinking wastewater risks and monitoring in light of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted public health and the worldwide economy. Converging evidence from the current pandemic, previous outbreaks and controlled experiments indicates that SARS-CoVs are present in wastewater for several days, leading to potential health risks via waterborne and aerosolized wastewater pathways. Conventional wastewater treatment provides only partial removal of SARS-CoVs, thus safe disposal or reuse will depend on the efficacy of final disinfection. This underscores the need for a risk assessment and management framework tailored to SARS-CoV-2 transmission via wastewater, including new tools for environmental surveillance, ensuring adequate disinfection as a component of overall COVID-19 pandemic containment.
| Publication language | English |
| Pages | 981-990 |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| Publication status | Published - 01.12.2020 |
