Ronald W. Harvey David W. Metge Menachem Elimelech Theresa Navigato Ann P. Pieper Joseph N. Ryan 2002 <p><span>Field and laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate inactivation of viruses attached to mineral surfaces. In a natural gradient transport field experiment, bacteriophage PRD1, radiolabeled with </span>³²<span>P, was injected into a ferric oxyhydroxide-coated sand aquifer with bromide and linear alkylbenzene sulfonates. In a zone of the aquifer contaminated by secondary sewage infiltration, small fractions of infective and </span>³²<span>P-labeled PRD1 broke through with the bromide tracer, followed by the slow release of 84% of the </span>³²<span>P activity and only 0.011% of the infective PRD1. In the laboratory experiments, the inactivation of PRD1, labeled with </span>³⁵<span>S (protein capsid), and MS2, dual radiolabeled with </span>³⁵<span>S (protein capsid) and </span>³²<span>P (nucleic acid), was monitored in the presence of groundwater and sediment from the contaminated zone of the field site. Release of infective viruses decreased at a much faster rate than release of the radiolabels, indicating that attached viruses were undergoing surface inactivation. Disparities between </span>³²<span>P and</span>³⁵<span>S release suggest that the inactivated viruses were released in a disintegrated state. Comparison of estimated solution and surface inactivation rates indicates solution inactivation is ∼3 times as fast as surface inactivation. The actual rate of surface inactivation may be substantially underestimated owing to slow release of inactivated viruses.</span></p> application/pdf 10.1021/es011285y en American Chemical Society Field and laboratory investigations of inactivation of viruses (PRD1 and MS2) attached to iron oxide-coated quartz sand article