Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer

National Exposure Research Laboratory Tech Protects Nation's Water
Bacterial contamination of water supplies can pose a serious risk to human health. To protect the public and ensure safe water, researchers from the National Exposure Research Laboratory of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have developed and evaluated a rapid and accurate method (EPA Method 1604) to detect both Escherichia coli (E. coli) and total coliforms (TC) in water, and have worked with several licensees in private industry to commercialize the method. Total coliforms include species that may inhabit the intestines of warmblooded animals or occur naturally in soil, vegetation and water. They are usually found in water polluted with feces and are often associated with disease outbreaks. Although coliforms do not usually cause illness, their presence in drinking water indicates the possible presence of pathogens-organisms that can cause disease, such as gastroenteritis. E. coli, one member of the group, is always found in feces and is, therefore, a direct indicator of fecal contamination and the possible presence of enteric pathogens.

The two media of EPA Method 1604 are available commercially in several forms, such as dehydrated powder, premade culture plates, bottled liquid media, and ampouled liquid media. One licensee has developed a new filter test system that uses ampouled MI broth for a wide variety of sample types, including municipal drinking or bioprocessing water and other liquid products, such as milk, dairy products, beer, wine, juice and soft drinks.