Study to look at prions in waste water
 team of researchers led by Assistant
Professor Katherine (Trina) McMahon and Professor
Craig Benson will examine the ability of prions—the culprit
behind mad cow disease—to withstand the processes used to treat
wastewater.
The team will join UW-Madison scientists Judd Aiken
and Joel Pedersen, who are currently investigating the fate of prion
proteins in soil and landfills.
At most treatment plants, microorganisms decompose
biodegradable material in the sewage and, in theory, should also disintegrate
infectious proteins, says McMahon. But as she points out, prion proteins
generally are very resistant to degradation.
“Prion proteins can be viewed as an environmental
contaminant,” says McMahon, adding that it currently is not known
how long these proteins can remain intact and infectious in the environment.
“Prions have not been detected in wastewater
entering treatment plants, but we can imagine several scenarios in which
we may need to be concerned about the presence of prions in wastewater,”
she says.
During this one-year project, which is supported
with a grant of nearly $100,000, McMahon and her co-investigators will
focus on several questions, including what percentage of these proteins
would be degraded during treatment and what percentage would be released
back into the environment in treated water. If prions are released,
the researchers will determine if the proteins remain infectious.
McMahon says answers to these questions will be
of particular interest to the engineers of treatment plants receiving
water from slaughterhouses or rendering facilities, as well as septic
tank owners who dress deer and potentially wash infected tissue down
the drain.
“The EPA,” adds McMahon, “would
like to know what the fate of prions would be in wastewater treatment
plants to determine if they need to ensure that prions are excluded
from waste streams entering these facilities.”
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