Experimental Protocol for Detecting SARS-CoV-2 in Screenings and Grit Samples of Wastewater Treatment Plants

Although various liquid, solid, and gaseous streams of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been analyzed in many studies for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, no study was found to sample and detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in screenings and grit samples separated from primary treatment units of WWTP. Hence, this study aims to provide an experimental protocol for sampling and extracting SARS-CoV-2 RNA from screenings and grits separated from WWTPs.

First, sampling was conducted to extract SARS-CoV-2 RNA from screenings and grit samples. After sample processing and viral RNA extraction, SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection was performed by one-step reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).

Based on the results, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was successfully extracted from screenings and grit samples of the studied WWTP with concentrations of (1.54 –3.9 × 104) and (0.8 – 2.3 × 104) genomic copies/L, respectively.

Considering the successfully isolation and detection of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in solid phase samples of WWTP,  this method can be applied for extracting SARS-CoV-2 RNA and maybe other viruses from the screenings and grit samples of WWTPs in related studies.