key: cord-0763772-scvcck1e authors: Nghiem, Long D.; Morgan, Branwen; Donner, Erica; Short, Michael D. title: The COVID-19 pandemic: considerations for the waste and wastewater services sector date: 2020-04-30 journal: nan DOI: 10.1016/j.cscee.2020.100006 sha: 3e0d87afadeece79c5d75aa3a2821af94f1608f6 doc_id: 763772 cord_uid: scvcck1e Abstract This article discusses the potential ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on waste and wastewater services, focusing on critical points where alternative operating procedures or additional mitigation measures may be advisable. Key concerns are (i) the long half-life of the virus on materials such as waste containers, bags, and in wastewater, and (ii) possible transmission via contaminated waste surfaces and aerosols from wastewater systems. There are opportunities to further the science of wastewater-based epidemiology by monitoring viral RNA in wastewater to assess disease prevalence and spread in defined populations, which may prove beneficial for informing COVID-19 related public health policy. As of April 2020, some 93% of the global population (about 7.2 billion people) live in 24 countries with some form of movement restrictions in place [1] . A new coronavirus disease, 25 officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation (WHO), has caused a global 26 pandemic with profound changes in many aspects of human life [2] . On 11 February 2020, 27 the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses announced severe acute respiratory 28 syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as the name of the new virus [3] . Unlike all previous 29 pandemics in modern history, COVID-19 is truly a global crisis. Never before have we seen 30 the health care systems of some of the world's most industrialised nations on the verge of 31 collapse [4] . Unprecedented measures (social distancing, school and workplace closure, and 32 restricted intra-and international movement) have been enforced by governments around the 33 world to stop the spread of COVID-19. As the world adapts to unprecedented behavioural 34 and societal changes in response to the threat posed by societal operations, 35 including many essential municipal services must also adapt and change. These essential 36 services such as waste collection and wastewater treatment are routine and indispensable. They play a key role in mitigating infectious disease transmission but are rarely mentioned in 38 public health crises response communications [5] [6] [7] . Under current projections waste and 39 wastewater industries are expected to bear significant financial impacts from COVID-19. For 40 example, water utilities in the USA are expected to suffer over $27 billion in financial loss 41 due to revenue reduction and expense increase as a direct consequence of . have crossed the species barrier from animal to human [3, 11] . Although its specific origins 55 are yet to be determined, the likely ancestor is a bat coronavirus [10]. The morphology and structure of SARS-CoV-2 has important implications for waste and 57 wastewater service. Each SARS-CoV-2 virion is a small spherical particle (≈100 nm 58 diameter), consisting of a positive single stranded RNA genome within a fragile lipid 59 envelope [12] . It is a betacoronavirus in the subgenus Sarbecovirus. Although sometimes 60 4 referred to as "a type of flu", it is in fact genetically and virologically distinct from influenza 61 viruses as these are negative sense RNA viruses. SARS-CoV-2 has spike proteins on its surface that bind to host cell proteins and subsequently 63 aid viral entry. Given their small size, SARS-CoV-2 virions can be transmitted via air as part 64 of aerosols [13] . However, due to the delicate nature of the lipid envelope of SARS-CoV-2 65 virions, the viral particle may become non-viable (i.e. non-infectious) once the envelope is 66 damaged, even though their genetic fragments may still be detected. A common method for detecting SARS-CoV-2 is nucleic acid testing using real time [38]. The challenge thus becomes to design a widely-accepted surveillance system to detect 213 the potential community presence of COVID-19 and for various end users -from public 214 health officials to facility operators -to be able to use these insights in their decision-making. This would include an ability to evaluate the effectiveness of different control measures to 216 suppress COVID-19 such as social distancing and city-wide lock down. 217 Wastewater monitoring has been successfully used to identify illicit drug hotspots [39] , and In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, this article shows that significant research is 233 needed to assess the status quo for pandemic preparedness and response in the waste and 234 wastewater sectors. We need to open up the discussion around potential changes to practice, 235 such as for the collection and handling of waste materials from households and quarantine 236 facilities with positive or suspected COVID-19 patients. Current mitigation practices such as 237 the use of withholding times may do much to reduce the risks to workers handling solid 238 wastes, but additional revisions to procedures may be required and should be considered. There is also a pressing need for data on SARS-CoV-2 prevalence and persistence in 240 wastewater in order to better understand related transmission pathways and to inform 241 appropriate risk management actions for the wastewater sector. Further research into possible 242 aerosol transmission of COVID-19 is also warranted, as lessons from previous outbreaks 243 including SARS-CoV indicated that this pathway was a factor in disease spread. Finally, the 244 ability to detect SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater provides an ideal opportunity to revisit its merits 245 as a data source. Although individual privacy considerations and a need to ensure data 246 security can be a challenge, given the scale, human toll, and financial impact of 247 this research should proceed with urgency. 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