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. 2020 Nov 1:741:140445.
doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140445. Epub 2020 Jun 23.

Potential spreading risks and disinfection challenges of medical wastewater by the presence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral RNA in septic tanks of Fangcang Hospital

Dayi Zhang  1 , Haibo Ling  2 , Xia Huang  3 , Jing Li  4 , Weiwei Li  2 , Chuan Yi  2 , Ting Zhang  4 , Yongzhong Jiang  4 , Yuning He  5 , Songqiang Deng  5 , Xian Zhang  3 , Xinzi Wang  3 , Yi Liu  3 , Guanghe Li  3 , Jiuhui Qu  6
Affiliations

Potential spreading risks and disinfection challenges of medical wastewater by the presence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral RNA in septic tanks of Fangcang Hospital

Dayi Zhang et al. Sci Total Environ. .

Abstract

The outbreak of coronavirus infectious disease-2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia raises the concerns of effective deactivation of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in medical wastewater by disinfectants. In this study, we evaluated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in septic tanks of Wuchang Cabin Hospital and found a striking high level of (0.5-18.7) × 103 copies/L after disinfection with sodium hypochlorite. Embedded viruses in stool particles might be released in septic tanks, behaving as a secondary source of SARS-CoV-2 and potentially contributing to its spread through drainage pipelines. Current recommended disinfection strategy (free chlorine ≥0.5 mg/L after at least 30 min suggested by World Health Organization; free chlorine above 6.5 mg/L after 1.5-h contact by China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) needs to be reevaluated to completely remove SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in non-centralized disinfection system and effectively deactivate SARS-CoV-2. The effluents showed negative results for SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA when overdosed with sodium hypochlorite but had high a level of disinfection by-product residuals, possessing significant ecological risks.

Keywords: Cabin hospital; Disinfection; Disinfection by-products; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Unlabelled Image
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic disinfection process of septic tanks of Wuchang Cabin Hospital.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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