After a building has undergone a terrorist attack using a biological weapon such as B. Anthracis, many ofthe interior building materials will need to be disposed. Although it is likely that these materials will bedecontaminated prior to their removal, officials may decide to remove the potentially bio-contaminatedmaterials without first fumigating them. In either scenario, the possibility exists that some of the buildingmaterials will retain viable contaminating agent spores. Incineration may be the best option for thedisposal of such building materials to completely destroy all potentially remaining bio-contaminants. Inthe early 1990s, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted microbial survivability testsat several medical waste incinerators (MWIs); these data have now been examined to evaluatemicrobiological destruction performance. Microorganisms were spiked into the waste feed and in testpipes, and subsequently analyzed for viability in the emissions, residue, and pipes using EPA conditionaltest methods. The results showed that for the most of the test runs, at least a five log reduction of thespores was achieved, although viable spores were detected in 10 out of a total of 48 air emission test runs,and spores were detected in 10 out of 27 available ash samples.
展开▼
