The following press release was published by the US EPA on Nov. 2. It is reproduced in full below.
DALLAS – (Nov. 2, 2021) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced Tulane University in New Orleans, La., is among recipients of $6,198,689 in funding for five grants to support research on existing and novel surrogates for detecting and monitoring viruses that are excreted with feces in wastewater that is intended for water reuse applications.
“Safe and reliable water supplies are critical to our nation’s communities and economy,” said Dr. Wayne Cascio, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science in EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “The research funded by these grants will coordinate water reuse research, help identify critical science gaps and accelerate opportunities for reuse.”
Tulane University’s project aims to develop a better understanding of viruses in different wastewater systems and design improved viral surrogate approaches that address challenges and shortcomings of current methodologies, including low concentrations of viruses in wastewater, detection, and a lack of specificity for addressing human health risk.
The reclamation and reuse of wastewater has the potential to significantly increase the nation’s total available water resources. When recycling wastewater, a chief public health concern is the risk posed by the presence of viruses that can infect humans, which can be difficult to reduce with traditional sewage treatment approaches. EPA expects the research from these grants will provide information that will enable wastewater operators, reuse projects, and state and local regulators to ensure the public is protected from these viruses when reusing municipal wastewater for various reuse applications.
The following groups also received funding under these National Priorities grant awards:
Learn more about the grantees:
https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/676/records_per_page/ALL
Learn more about EPA research grants: https://www.epa.gov/research-grants
Connect with EPA Region 6:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eparegion6
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/EPAregion6
Activities in EPA Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.htm
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Source: US EPA
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