EPA and Marshall University
Assessing Dangerous Anthrax Spores for Effective Disaster Remediation
What is the fate of a spore? This might seem like a whimsical question during the springtime, when tiny yellow-green pollen collects on outdoors surfaces until they are washed away from sight by rain or trips to the car wash. But what happens to spores like Bacillus anthracis, which produce toxins that lead to the lethal disease known as anthrax? In the years after the anthrax bioterror attacks that followed September 11, 2001, EPA scientists explored large-scale decontamination methods and analyzed what happened to contaminated water resulting from those decontamination efforts. In September of 2020, EPA scientists set out to explore newer research suggesting that existing infiltration-based stormwater control measures, which are designed to retain and improve the quality of runoff, may have the potential to filter and contain the spores.
After the anthrax bioterror attacks that followed September 11, 2001, EPA scientists began studying large-scale anthrax decontamination methods for water systems
EPA scientists from the Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response teamed up with Marshall University through a Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to study anthrax spore distribution in water systems. An EPA research team with additional members from The Ohio State and North Carolina State Universities assessed two types of spore removal from surfaces: natural rainfall and intentional flushing with hose water. They used EPA’s rainfall simulator in its Research Triangle Park facility to perform laboratory-based experiments to further understand spore transportation within the layers of permeable pavement systems. They simulated outdoor runoff events using a fire hydrant and by injecting low-risk tracer spores of Bacillus globigii (Bg) upstream of stormwater control measure inlets. The team then conducted soil analysis at multiple depths from the runoff simulation locations after three months, and again after six months, testing for concentrations of Bg spores and particle size distribution.
First responders can use the resulting spore modeling data from this Project to design sampling and decontamination plans in the event of a biological disaster.
This collaboration allowed the Marshall University team to access EPA scientists’ expert knowledge in disaster response and use EPA equipment and facilities such as the rainfall simulator. EPA benefited from Marshall University’s mathematical modeling expertise and assistance with the experiment design. Emergency responders and stormwater utilities can use the resulting spore modeling data within bioretention cells and permeable pavement systems, which was previously unavailable, to design sampling and decontamination plans in the event of a biological agent disaster.
Research conducted through this collaborative agreement supports EPA's emergency response and homeland security research programs, which provide science and technology needed to effectively respond to and recover from disasters.
EPA and Marshall University investigators published their findings in a scientific paper titled, “The potential to manage releases of Bacillus anthracis using bioretention and a high flow media filter: Results of simulated runoff testing with tracer spores Bacillus globigii,” submitted to Environmental Management (2023). They are currently working to publish two additional papers in peer reviewed journals.