Remediating anthrax-contaminated sites: Learning from the past to protect the future

Canter, Dorothy A.

doi:10.1016/j.chs.2004.12.001

Cited by 30 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Postal Service resulted in contamination of numerous buildings either directly (e.g., handling of the contaminated letters) or secondarily (cross-contamination). Contaminated buildings included media offices, postal facilities, Capitol Hill, the Department of State and Department of Justice mail facilities, and residences (4,5). Several of these facilities were determined to have minimal contamination, likely due to cross-contamination, based upon the low numbers of surface samples positive for the presence of B. anthracis spores.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Even though there is no direct data available on the role of temperature and RH, hydration of spores by Ն75% RH appears to be a prerequisite for high sporicidal action of CD gas. Success of a fumigation was indirectly determined via the use of biological indicators (BIs) or spore strips; effective kill of all BIs (no growth on analysis) was required (4,23). Ultimately, successful remediation of the facility was concluded based on no growth being observed upon environmental surface sampling (4,26).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…BIs have been extensively used in all fumigations for B. anthracis to assess effective distribution of CD gas across threedimensional space and to perform a primary determination of the success of the fumigation (4,5). BIs are made with paper or steel discs, which are inoculated with spores and encased in a gas-permeable envelope.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Systematic Evaluation of the Efficacy of Chlorine Dioxide in Decontamination of Building Interior Surfaces Contaminated with Anthrax Spores

Rastogi

Ryan

Wallace

et al. 2010

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Efficacy of chlorine dioxide (CD) gas generated by two distinct generation systems, Sabre (wet system with gas generated in water) and ClorDiSys (dry system with gas generated in air), was evaluated for inactivation of Bacillus anthracis spores on six building interior surfaces. The six building materials included carpet, acoustic ceiling tile, unpainted cinder block, painted I-beam steel, painted wallboard, and unpainted pinewood. There was no statistically significant difference in the data due to the CD generation technology at a 95% confidence level. Note that a common method of CD gas measurement was used for both wet and dry CD generation types. Doses generated by combinations of different concentrations of CD gas (500, 1,000, 1,500, or 3,000 parts per million of volume [ppmv]) and exposure times (ranging between 0.5 and 12 h) were used to evaluate the relative role of fumigant exposure period and total dose in the decontamination of building surfaces. The results showed that the time required to achieve at least a 6-log reduction in viable spores is clearly a function of the material type on which the spores are inoculated. The wood and cinder block coupons required a longer exposure time to achieve a 6-log reduction. The only material showing a clear statistical difference in rate of decay of viable spores as a function of concentration was cinder block. For all other materials, the profile of spore kill (i.e., change in number of viable spores with exposure time) was not dependent upon fumigant concentration (500 to 3,000 ppmv). The CD dose required for complete spore kill on biological indicators (typically, 1E6 spores of Bacillus atrophaeus on stainless steel) was significantly less than that required for decontamination of most of the building materials tested.

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Systematic Evaluation of the Efficacy of Chlorine Dioxide in Decontamination of Building Interior Surfaces Contaminated with Anthrax Spores

Rastogi

Ryan

Wallace

et al. 2010

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…Additionally, one of the remediation goals was to open the facility as quickly as possible; therefore, work was conducted on a 24-hour basis. 19 The National Academies report states that the response on Capitol Hill was ''uncoordinated, and it was marked by inconsistencies,'' which may partially explain the elevated costs. 12(p68) A separate report, produced by the Government Accountability Office, found that while many uncertainties existed, the EPA ''used its contracting capabilities effectively.''…”

Section: Fumigated Buildingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Total Decontamination Cost of the Anthrax Letter Attacks

Schmitt

Zacchia

2012

Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, an

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All of the costs associated with decontamination following the 2001 anthrax letter attacks were summarized, estimated, and aggregated based on existing literature and news media reports. A comprehensive list of all affected structures was compiled. Costs were analyzed by building class and decontamination type. Sampling costs and costs of worker relocation were also included. Our analysis indicates that the total cost associated with decontamination was about $320 million.

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“…Although significant advances have been made over the last decade in the areas of detection, sampling, and decontamination following a biological terror incident, gaps remain in our ability to respond rapidly and recover from large-scale attacks (e.g., wide-area dispersal of a biological agent) (Calfee et al, 2013b; Campbell et al, 2012; Canter, 2005; Franco and Bouri, 2010; Wein et al, 2003). Particularly challenging will be the task of delineating the affected area and determining which buildings were contaminated following a wide-area release (Raber, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of sampling methods for Bacillus spore-contaminated HVAC filters

Calfee

Rose

Tufts

et al. 2014

Journal of Microbiological Methods

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The objective of this study was to compare an extraction-based sampling method to two vacuum-based sampling methods (vacuum sock and 37 mm cassette filter) with regards to their ability to recover Bacillus atrophaeus spores (surrogate for Bacillus anthracis) from pleated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) filters that are typically found in commercial and residential buildings. Electrostatic and mechanical HVAC filters were tested, both without and after loading with dust to 50% of their total holding capacity. The results were analyzed by one-way ANOVA across material types, presence or absence of dust, and sampling device. The extraction method gave higher relative recoveries than the two vacuum methods evaluated (p ≤ 0.001). On average, recoveries obtained by the vacuum methods were about 30% of those achieved by the extraction method. Relative recoveries between the two vacuum methods were not significantly different (p > 0.05). Although extraction methods yielded higher recoveries than vacuum methods, either HVAC filter sampling approach may provide a rapid and inexpensive mechanism for understanding the extent of contamination following a wide-area biological release incident.

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Remediating anthrax-contaminated sites: Learning from the past to protect the future

Cited by 30 publications

References 4 publications

Systematic Evaluation of the Efficacy of Chlorine Dioxide in Decontamination of Building Interior Surfaces Contaminated with Anthrax Spores

Systematic Evaluation of the Efficacy of Chlorine Dioxide in Decontamination of Building Interior Surfaces Contaminated with Anthrax Spores

Total Decontamination Cost of the Anthrax Letter Attacks

Evaluation of sampling methods for Bacillus spore-contaminated HVAC filters

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