Hospitals Can Send Masks for Decontamination at No Charge
A repurposed shipping container chamber like this one is using hydrogen peroxide vapor to decontaminate tens of thousands of N95 masks in Burbank each week. Photo: Battelle
An 8,000-lb. chamber with the capacity to decontaminate 20,000 protective masks a day is up and running at Hollywood Burbank Airport, CDPH officials report. A letter to hospitals invites facility managers to collect spent N95 masks for processing and reuse — to relieve the region’s PPE shortage.
Built by Ohio-based firm Battelle, the chambers are constructed out of repurposed shipping containers. They use hydrogen peroxide vapor to decontaminate masks — a process shown in a 2015 FDA study to thoroughly and reliably inactivate bacteria and viruses, the firm said.
Multiple units are being constructed and deployed to strategic points across the country to support efforts to stem the virus that causes COVID-19, Battelle spokesperson Katy Delaney told HASC Briefs in an email.
Hospitals can participate in the program at no cost.
The steel decontamination chambers “are being built under a contract with HHS, FEMA and the Defense Logistics Agency — so the mask decontamination service is provided free to health care providers and first responders,” Delaney explained.
Hospitals take part by setting up collection stations for used masks. Masks collected for the program “must be free of any visual soiling or contamination (e.g., blood, bodily fluids, makeup),” the CDPH letter states.
To learn more and participate, download the CDPH letter outlining program procedures and contacts here.
Under federal guidelines, masks can be decontaminated up to 20 times, and will be labeled with bar codes so they can be returned to their original facility.
Contact:
Adam Blackstone
(213) 538-0761
ablackstone@hasc.org