While researchers have acknowledged the potential role of environmental scientists, engineers, and industrial hygienists during this pandemic, the role of the water utility professional is often overlooked. The wastewater sector is critical to public health protection and employs collection and treatment system workers who perform tasks with high potential for exposures to biological agents. While various technical guidances and reports have initially provided direction to the water sector, the rapidly growing body of research publications necessitates the constant review of these papers and data synthesis. This paper presents the latest findings and highlights their implications from a water and wastewater utility operation and management perspective.

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The production of free ionic carriers due to bimolecular triplet encounters of anthracene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene in solvents methyltetrahydrofuran (MTHF), tetrahydrofuran (THF), benzonitrile (C6H5CN), and acetonitrile (CH3CN), whose dielectric constants fell between 6.2 and 36.7, was verified. The probability of producing free carriers per triplet–triplet collision from phenanthrene was found to be 1.9 × 10−4, 1.9 × 10−3, and 0.41 in MTHF, THF, and CH3CN, respectively. The probability of free carrier production in fluid THF was found to be 1.4 × 10−2, 1.3 × 10−2, and less than 10−4, respectively, for triplets of anthracene, pyrene, the tetracene. The significance of escape of carriers from a Coulomb well was delineated and shown to be of maximal concern for media whose dielectric constant was less than 15. Similarly, carrier escape was shown to be primarily responsible for the lack of observed photocurrents from these aromatic hydrocarbons in n-hexane and cyclohexane.