Abstract
In this study, we attempted to quantify the risk of enteric virus infection due to wastewater reuse, and to clarify the necessary reclamation methods to ensure safety. To assess the potential risk associated with the use of reclaimed wastewater in various reuse applications, some exposure scenarios were assumed, and enteric virus concentrations in secondary effluents were monitored at ten wastewater treatment plants for 2 years. The virus concentrations in secondary effluents distributed according to a log normal curve. Annual infection risks (r) corresponding to the scenarios were calculated using the Monte Carlo method. Then, assuming a number of virus removal efficiencies (x), annual infection risks (r) were calculated and the relationship between virus removal efficiency and annual infection risk (r=f (x)) was obtained for each scenario. The necessary virus removal efficiency (x0), satisfying the assumed acceptable annual risk (r0) under the given scenario, was calculated using r=f (x). A virus removal method satisfying the virus removal efficiency (x0) was chosen using the existing data of enteric virus removal efficiencies of several reclamation methods.
