Abstract: This report describes an experiment in which water samples inoculated with Escherichia (E.) coil and Legionella (L.) pneumophila organisms were exposed to ultrasonic energy. It was found that treating these samples with pulses of ultrasound for at least 15 minutes at a 50% amplitude virtually eliminated the E. coil colonies. Longer exposure times were required to completely destroy L. pneumophila. Although the water samples experienced slight warming during the course of the ultrasonification, control experiments (in which the test samples were not exposed to ultrasound but simply warmed) have supported the conclusion that the test organisms were destroyed by acoustic energy alone. The use of ultrasound as an applied and commercial technology for disinfecting water supplies is also discussed in the report. However, the mechanisms of cell destruction, not yet fully understood, are left for the subject of a future publication.
| Limitations: |
 APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE |
| Description: |
Final rept. |
| Pages: |
18 |
| Report Date: |
05 APR 1999 |
| Report Number: |
A444563 |
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