Sunday 24 January 2021
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The Narragansett Bay Commission has been approved to participate in a COVID-19 study conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
The study is designed to quickly monitor 100 million people across the United States through wastewater monitoring to monitor the COVID-19 epidemic and to identify best practices for the SARS-CoV-2 wastewater assessment and subsequent data analysis across the country.
Questions about the transmission of coronavirus via wastewater began in May 2020 when the World Health Organization began asking questions.
In October, MIT reported that the university had begun testing a wastewater testing program as a new tool to keep the campus community safe this semester.
“In a project that will last through the fall semester, wastewater from seven buildings on campus will be tested daily for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The project is designed to determine whether testing of wastewater is an effective early warning system for COVID-19 outbreaks on campus, and is being evaluated as a complementary tool in the Institute’s response to the pandemic, along with clinical trials, contact detection and other measures, “reports MIT.
Bullock Point Wastewater Treatment Facility, PHOTO: NBC
How much virus in the water
The NBC’s Bucklin Point Wastewater Treatment Facility in East Providence is participating in Phase I of the study, during which raw wastewater impact is tested twice a week for six weeks. Phase I will assess 10% of the U.S. population through wastewater monitoring. Monitoring began on December 27, 2020.
The second phase will enroll additional treatment plants to achieve the goal of monitoring 30% of the U.S. population. All data will be compiled by HHS and communicated to communities, with the aim of sending data back to local health departments as soon as possible to make quick, effective decisions.
“Wastewater treatment has always been essential to public health and protects our citizens from diseases and epidemics such as dysentery and cholera,” said Vincent Mesolella, president of NBC. ‘It’s a natural progression of our public health mission to contribute to the fight again. We are very proud to be part of this study that provides valuable data to our country’s leaders during this challenging time. ”
An article published in Nature states: “The health risks of COVID-19 through the transfer of water may be greater than initially accepted, and wastewater should be further studied as a possible route for COVID-19. Evidence for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater systems is accumulating around the world The large number of infected individuals in the current pandemic, together with the high infectivity of SARS-CoV-2, may be a presents new challenges for wastewater treatment and calls for future assessment of the risk of transmission via reuse of wastewater.Such risks can be expected to be highest in areas with high population density, direct exposure to aerosolized wastewater, as well as regions that do not collect, treat and disinfect sufficient waste water. “
“Comprehensive research on the frequency of detection of infectious SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater is urgently needed to:
(1) critical information on the abundance of viruses in raw wastewater, treated wastewater and the reception environment, which can be used to generate a quantitative risk assessment;
(2) information on the efficiency of removal by the wastewater treatment train;
(3) disinfection requirements according to virus loading and transmission via RGBs to ensure the removal of SARS-CoV-2 for reuse of wastewater; and (4) epidemic surveillance for policy makers on the outbreak, extent and occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic within the community, ‘writes the report published in August.
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