Theory 051/Water & Sanitation
Disinfection Beats Repair
The claim
Disinfection efficacy is set by the ratio of contact time-times-concentration to the organism's repair rate rather than by CT alone.
01The mechanism
Organisms repair damage during and after exposure; efficacy depends on whether damage accumulates faster than repair.
02Predictions
- P1Efficacy should collapse at high repair rates.
- P2CT should over-predict kill for repair-capable organisms.
03Refutation
Efficacy tracking CT alone would remove the repair term.