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Assessment of Bacillus spore inactivation on indoor surfaces using commercially-available cleaning products
Citation:
U.S. EPA. Assessment of Bacillus spore inactivation on indoor surfaces using commercially-available cleaning products. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-15/228, 2015.
Impact/Purpose:
Low tech decontamination approaches employing liquid and physical cleaning methods have been used following the intentional or accidental release of Bacillus (B.) anthracis spores in secondarily contaminated areas, (i.e., areas contaminated with a biological agent tracked from primary contaminated sites, often via materials contaminated/cross-contaminated with anthrax; e.g. letters), or in primary contaminated facilities (i.e., directly exposed to intentional or accidental release of anthrax spores) showing a minimal presence of the B. anthracis spores. These methods included combinations of disposal of contaminated items, vacuuming, and the use of liquid sporicides (e.g., pH-amended bleach solution) or a combination of mechanical and chemical procedures (vacuum, scrub/wash, and bleach). This project evaluated “low tech”/”self-help” expedient bioagent decontamination options of porous and nonporous building materials using bleach solutions. Bleach is effective against a broad range of microorganisms at low contact times (5-10 minutes). These data suggest that “low-tech”/”self-help” decontamination technology can provide greater than 6 log reductions of viable spores on the common building materials tested. The use of ready-to-use (RTU)-commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) materials removes additive-bleach compatibility issues and a priori eliminates any potential errors in preparation of diluted bleach and surfactant-amended bleach formulation.
Description:
Report