Inactivation of bacteriophage MS2 in wastewater effluent with monochromatic and polychromatic ultraviolet light

A model using bacteriophage MS2 for the calculation of the effective dose in u.v.-disinfection by polychromatic light from a medium pressure mercury lamp was studied. The model was based on first-order inactivation kinetics, the u.v.-absorption spectrum of MS2-RNA as the action spectrum and Lambert-Beers' law for light absorption by the effluents. The u.v.-sensitivity of the phage was calibrated with a low pressure mercury lamp; the inactivation rate constant ( k) was 0.0106 m 2/J, which corresponds well with previously reported data. The model fitted actual data in most experiments, although tailing effects were observed. In some experiments a different value of k was necessary to fit the actual inactivation curves, varying between 0.0077 and 0.0121 m 2/J. The MS2 phage was found suitable for calibration of u.v. sources.