COVID-19 RISK IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES

COVID-19 RISK IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES

Luisa Ikner, Walter Betancourt, Kelly Reynolds, Ian Pepper

In addition to traveling through droplets in the air generated by a sneeze or cough, the novel coronavirus passes through the feces of infected individuals. These live viruses can become airborne in wastewater treatment plants, posing a threat to facility workers. A team of four researchers at the UArizona Water and Energy Sustainable Technology Center – environmental science assistant research professors Drs. Luisa Ikner and Walter Betancourt, public health professor Dr. Kelly Reynolds and environmental science professor Dr. Ian Pepper – are working with Jeff Prevatt, deputy director of the Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department, to study the risk of the airborne virus to facility worker health.

Project Investigators: