GYNNAR VISSA RÖRLEDNINGSMATERIAL VIDHÄFTNING OCH TILLVÄXT AV BAKTERIER I DRICKSVATTEN? / Do Some Tubing Materials Favour Attachment and Growth of Bacteria in Drinking Water Systems?
Bacteria attach and grow on surfaces in all biologically active systems. Municipal drinking water represents such a system. It can be questioned if desinfectants are active against bacteria growing on surfaces in the same order as against free-living bacteria. What will happen if patogenic bacteria for some reason occupy a niche amongst the surface living bacteria in a drinking water system? This paper reports results that indicate tubing made of polyethylene and PVC to favor attachment and growth of bacteria. After exposure for 33 days to flowing municipal drinking water (10 cm/s), polyethylene tubing exhibited at most 100 times more bacteria (106 cells/cm2) and PVC 10 times more bacteria than did copper tubing and inert surfaces of glass.