TUCSON, AZ — A new University of Arizona research project will explore ways anthrax would disperse in a community's water supply in order to improve security for preventing such an event.

The Arizona Daily Star said the project is the recipient of a $10,000 Homeland Security Grant.

To combat possible bioterrorism, Charles Gerba and Christopher Choi will research how deadly spores disperse in a water supply, the newspaper said. Gerba is a professor of soil, water and environmental sciences, and Choi is an associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering.

They will build a small canal and add spores of a non-disease-causing agent, map the spores and create models of dispersal, the newspaper said. The models can then calculate the risk of getting anthrax or another biological agent from a water supply.

The researchers will also consider how to treat the water to protect people, the article said.

The project is one of eight security-related projects being funded by the grant program at the university, according to the newspaper.

Brad Mierau, Ph.D.
Vice President R&D
Innova Pure Water, Inc.
www.innovapurewater.com