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Sustainable Approaches to Decontamination and Recovery: Harnessing Recycling and Reuse Potential in Biological Contamination Incidents
Citation:
Colachis, M., S. Middala, R. James, T. Boe, AND W. Calfee. Sustainable Approaches to Decontamination and Recovery: Harnessing Recycling and Reuse Potential in Biological Contamination Incidents. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-23/138, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
Waste is generated during all stages of response and recovery following a biological contamination event, including from personal protective equipment (PPE), sampling equipment, and decontamination technologies. A literature review and consultation with subject matter experts identified technologies with high recycling and reuse potential, such as sampling templates, scoops, sponge sticks, PPE, and sampling containers. These technologies were divided into three tiers based on their recycling potential. 3D printing has demonstrated potential for enhancing recycling and reuse of these technologies. As a next step, selecting a high-priority Tier 1 technology and developing a prototype using the strategies outlined in the report could help showcase its recyclability or reusability.
Description:
Waste is produced at all stages of the response and recovery (including decontamination) following a biological contamination incident. Types of materials that generate a significant proportion of the waste at every stage of the response include personal protective equipment (PPE), sampling equipment, and decontamination technologies and associated supplies. For instance, during the EPA's Bio-Response Operational Testing and Evaluation (BOTE) field demonstration, characterization/clearance surface sampling and decontamination of an 8,000 square-foot building generated approximately 18,000 pounds of solid waste, of which roughly 2,000 pounds were attributed to the sampling process, including supply packaging and PPE. This large amount of waste delivered to waste facilities not only increases costs and timelines, but it also may have negative impact on safety and health including exposure to contaminated waste, logistics surrounding transportation of waste and implications of long-term storage and/or disposal. A literature review was performed to identify the recycling and reuse potential for PPE and other sampling and decontamination technologies and used following a biological contamination incident. The current state of the science for recycling or reusing sample and decontamination procedures and materials was determined and innovative ideas that could be used to reduce the amount of waste generated from sampling, PPE, and decontamination operations were proposed. In addition, subject matter experts (SMEs) were consulted to prioritize decontamination, sampling, and PPE technologies with high potential for development of an innovative approach to recycling and reuse. Technologies considered by the SMEs to have the most recycle and reuse potential include sampling templates, sampling scoops, sponge sticks, PPE, sampling containers, aqueous waste decontamination, and gas fumigation. This report divides the technologies with recycle/reuse potential into three tiers with Tier 1 having the most recycle/reuse potential. For several types of PPE and sampling technologies, 3-D printing has demonstrated increased potential for facilitating recycle/reuse. 3-D printing techniques have greatly advanced, allowing the use of a diverse range of materials, including polymers, that offer increase potential for equipment decontamination or recycling of printing filaments. To demonstrate the recyclability or reusability, the next step could be to choose one of the Tier 1 technologies and design and build a prototype applying technologies that are discussed in this paper.