Gamma Irradiation for Inactivation of C. parvum, E. coli, and Coliphage MS-2

Wastewater and drinking water disinfection are typically achieved via chlorination, ozonation, or UV irradiation. However, there has been increased interest in recent years in alternative disinfectants. This interest came about primarily as a result of concerns over the toxicological effects of disinfection by-products created by conventional disinfection processes and the resistance of some recalcitrant microorganisms to these disinfectants. The work reported herein represents an investigation of the effect of an alternative disinfectant, gamma radiation, on the viability of three important waterborne microorganisms. Escherichia coli, coliphage MS-2, and Cryptosporidium parvum were chosen for this investigation as representative bacterial, viral, and protozoan microorganisms, respectively. A ⁶⁰Co irradiator was used to expose test microorganisms to a controlled radiation dose. Experiments were performed for each of the test microorganisms to evaluate the effect of dissolved oxygen concentration and carbonate alkalinity on inactivation efficiency. For each microorganism, a strong effect of dissolved oxygen was observed, regardless of alkalinity. A subtle effect of alkalinity was observed for E. coli and coliphage MS-2, but only in air-saturated solutions. No significant alkalinity effect was observed for Cryptosporidium parvum. Inactivation kinetics were modeled for E. coli and coliphage MS-2 using single-target theory to calculate an inactivation rate constant. Multitarget theory was used to represent the inactivation response of Cryptosporidium parvum. The inactivation models based on target theory were found to provide suitable representations of experimental observations.