Septage treatments to reduce the numbers of bacteria and polioviruses.

Disposal of the pumped contents of septic tanks (septage) represents a possible means of dissemination of enteric pathogens including viruses, since persistence of enteroviruses in septic tank sludge for greater than 100 days has been demonstrated. The risk of exposure to potentially infectious agents can be reduced by disinfecting septages before their disposal. Of the septage disinfectants examined (technical and analytical grade glutaraldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, heat treatments, and a combination of heat and hydrogen peroxide), the treatment including hydrogen peroxide (5 mg, plus 0.33 mg of trichloroacetic acid, per ml of septage) and 55 degrees C killed virtually all the bacteria in septage within 1 h, whereas 55 degrees C alone inactivated inoculated polioviruses within 30 min. Virus was the most sensitive to heat, whereas fecal coliforms appeared to be the most sensitive to all chemical treatments. The responses of fecal streptococci and virus to both grades of glutaraldehyde (each at 1 mg/ml) were similar. Virus was more resistant than either fecal streptococci or total bacteria to low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (1 to 5 mg/ml); however, virus and fecal streptococci were more labile than total bacteria to the highest peroxide concentration (10 mg/ml) examined. It is possible that the treatment combining heat and hydrogen peroxide was the most effective in reducing the concentrations of all bacteria, because catalase and peroxidases as well as other enzymes were heat inactivated, although catalase seems the most likely cause of damage. However, this most effective treatment does not appear to be practical for on-site use as performed, so further work on septage disinfection is recommended.