Detection of infectious human adenoviruses in tertiary-treated and ultraviolet-disinfected wastewater

A pilot-scale study investigating the use of low-pressure, high-intensity UV radiation for disinfection of urban wastewater was conducted. The inactivation of coliform bacteria, wastewater-indigenous enteric viruses, seeded poliovirus, and seeded F-specific coliphage was studied. During the course of the pilot study, infectious human adenoviruses were isolated from 15 of 16 large-volume samples of UV-disinfected secondary- and tertiary-treated wastewater. Half of the tertiary-treated, UV-disinfected effluent samples from which the adenoviruses were isolated had total coliform concentrations that complied with California's Water Recycling Criteria. To determine the relative UV resistance of the adenovirus isolates, purified viruses were seeded into tertiary-treated waste-water and exposed to low-pressure, high-intensity, collimated UV radiation. A dose of approximately 170 mW-s/cm2 was required to achieve 99.99% inactivation. These findings suggest that UV doses effective at meeting certain wastewater regulations for total coliform bacteria may not provide suitable inactivation of the UV-resistant human adenoviruses.