The Water Environment Federation Board of Trustees has updated its position statement on disinfection. The new statement replaces the organization’s 2000 position focused solely on chlorine-based disinfectants. It supports continued responsible use of chlorine-based disinfectants as well as alternative methods.
“Wastewater disinfection requirements are site-specific, depending on treated wastewater characteristics, applicable water quality and disinfection standards, and treatment process configuration and constraints,” says the statement, adopted June 16.
“Therefore, all current disinfection options should remain available to allow a comparative evaluation of scientific, environmental, engineering, and economic benefits at each site. WEF believes that a proposal to ban the use of any specific disinfectant, such as chlorine-based chemicals, is inappropriate unless justified through scientific studies.
“WEF will continue to support disinfection-related research, advances in technology, and improvements in current methods to enhance process effectiveness and efficiency, safety, and beneficial effects on human health and the environment.”
Learn more at www.wef.org.
