Nixon Peabody LLP

  • People
  • Capabilities
  • Insights
  • About

Trending Topics

    • People
    • Capabilities
    • Insights
    • About
    • Locations
    • Events
    • Careers
    • Alumni

    Practices

    View All

    • Affordable Housing
    • Community Development Finance
    • Corporate & Finance
    • Cybersecurity & Privacy
    • Environmental
    • Franchising & Distribution
    • Government Investigations & White Collar Defense
    • Healthcare
    • Intellectual Property
    • International Services
    • Labor & Employment
    • Litigation
    • Private Wealth & Advisory
    • Project Finance
    • Public Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Regulatory & Government Relations

    Industries

    View All

    • Cannabis
    • Consumer
    • Energy
    • Entertainment
    • Financial Services
    • Healthcare
    • Higher Education
    • Infrastructure
    • Manufacturing
    • Non Profit
    • Real Estate
    • Technology

    Value-Added Services

    View All

    • Alternative Fee Arrangements

      Developing innovative pricing structures and alternative fee agreement models that deliver additional value for our clients.

    • Continuing Education

      Advancing professional knowledge and offering credits for attorneys, staff and other professionals.

    • Crisis Advisory

      Helping clients respond correctly when a crisis occurs.

    • DEI Strategic Services

      Providing our clients with legal, strategic, and practical advice to make transformational changes in their organizations.

    • eDiscovery

      Leveraging law and technology to deliver sound solutions.

    • Global Services

      Delivering seamless service through partnerships across the globe.

    • Innovation

      Leveraging leading-edge technology to guide change and create seamless, collaborative experiences for clients and attorneys.

    • IPED

      Industry-leading conferences focused on affordable housing, tax credits, and more.

    • Legal Project Management

      Providing actionable information to support strategic decision-making.

    • Legally Green

      Teaming with clients to advance sustainable projects, mitigate the effects of climate change, and protect our planet.

    • Nixon Peabody Trust Company

      Offering a range of investment management and fiduciary services.

    • NP Capital Connector

      Bringing together companies and investors for tomorrow’s new deals.

    • NP Second Opinion

      Offering fresh insights on cases that are delayed, over budget, or off-target from the desired resolution.

    • NP Trial

      Courtroom-ready lawyers who can resolve disputes early on clients’ terms or prevail at trial before a judge or jury.

    • Social Impact

      Creating positive impact in our communities through increasing equity, access, and opportunity.

    1. Home
    2. Insights
    3. Alerts
    4. Coronavirus and wastewater treatmentAlerts

    Alert / Environmental Law Alert

    Coronavirus and wastewater treatment

    Feb 26, 2020

    Share

    By Alison Torbitt

    As the CDC continues to refine its plan to mitigate what it anticipates will be a pandemic outbreak of the respiratory illness COVID-19, a strain of coronavirus, wastewater sector professionals around the nation are also taking precaution. Learn more in this alert.

    DOWNLOAD

    PDF: Coronavirus and wastewater treatment

    As the Center for Disease Control (CDC) continues to refine its plan to mitigate what it anticipates will be a pandemic outbreak of the respiratory illness COVID-19, a strain of coronavirus, wastewater sector professionals around the nation are also taking precautions, utilizing training developed by the Water Environment Federation (WEF) Disinfection and Public Health Committee (DPHC).

    The COVID-19 virus was first detected in Wuhan, China, on Dec. 12, 2019. It is most likely transmitted person-to-person via sneezing and coughing. The virus has been identified in respiratory secretions and blood. The virus has also been detected in the feces of a small proportion of coronavirus-infected patients. While incubation is 2-14 days, “shedding” of the virus in secretions, blood, and, potentially, feces is currently believed to last from days to weeks from first transmission.

    Because the virus was detected in feces, there is a potential for it to exist in wastewater. If the presence is confirmed, the next step will be to determine if exposure to sewage could be a transmission source. According to Mark Sobsey of the Gillings Schools of Global Public Health - UNC Chapel Hill, there has been only one alleged transmission from wastewater related to a broken toilet. Whether transmission via wastewater is occurring is awaiting scientific confirmation.

    Other strains of coronavirus, including SARS and the “common cold,” are known to survive in sewage and water, so water sector professionals are taking precautions. Assuming COVID-19 can also survive in sewage and water, water sector professionals are utilizing disinfection chemicals effective against other strains of coronavirus, requiring workers in contact with fecal wastes to wear recommended personal protective equipment (PPE), and, as always, recommending that all personnel follow good hygiene practices (i.e., handwashing). Additional recommendations are being considered now by WEF’s DPHC based on knowledge gained from treating the Ebola virus, including the use of a sanitation safety plan and separate sanitation facilities where feasible. However, at this time, it is unclear if such measures are necessary. Overall, Mr. Sobsey has concluded that conventional wastewater treatment systems are effective in reducing the coronavirus.

    Matt Arduino—Environmental Hygiene and Infection Prevention, Office of the Director, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion-CDC—emphasized that coronaviruses are very susceptible to the same disinfection practices that kill other viruses, and can be disinfected with the same practices as other wastes, without any need for additional disinfection. Mr. Arduino assured wastewater treatment workers that there is no evidence that additional protections are needed, and he stated that there is no need to panic. Many may find this chart, comparing COVID-19 to SARS and Ebola, interesting as they align their own best practices with existing knowledge from past viruses.

    Practices

    EnvironmentalWater & Wastewater Management

    Insights And Happenings

    • Alert

      EPA announces new strategy to address PFAS in federally-issued wastewater permits

      Dec 11, 2020
    • Press Release

      Nixon Peabody’s San Francisco office grows with addition of veteran environmental counsel

      Oct 13, 2020
    • Alert

      Guide to access funding and other key considerations impacting the business of non-hospital health care providers/employers operating small businesses

      March 31, 2020
    The foregoing has been prepared for the general information of clients and friends of the firm. It is not meant to provide legal advice with respect to any specific matter and should not be acted upon without professional counsel. If you have any questions or require any further information regarding these or other related matters, please contact your regular Nixon Peabody LLP representative. This material may be considered advertising under certain rules of professional conduct.

    Subscribe to stay informed of the latest legal news, alerts, and business trends.Subscribe

    • People
    • Capabilities
    • Insights
    • About
    • Locations
    • Events
    • Careers
    • Alumni
    • © 2023 Nixon Peabody. All rights reserved
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Statement of Client Rights
    • Supplier Diversity Program
    • Nixon Peabody International LLC
    • PAL