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San Francisco airport will monitor plane waste for COVID-19 variants

The program is the first in the country to continuously monitor sewage from airplanes

A wide shot photo of San Francisco International Airport with planes at several gates and runways visible in the distance.

San Francisco International Airport (shown) will be the first U.S. airport to regularly test plane sewage for coronavirus variants.

Russss/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

By Betsy Ladyzhets

International travelers can now contribute valuable data to COVID-19 surveillance efforts in the United States from above the clouds.

San Francisco International Airport has launched a new program to test airplane wastewater for variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, the airport announced May 9.