title: Environmental decontamination following a large-scale bioterrorism attack: federal progress and remaining gaps.
abstract: The process of environmental decontamination is a key step in a successful response to a large-scale attack involving a biological agent. Costs for the decontamination response following the 2001 anthrax attacks were estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and some facilities could not be reopened for more than 2 years. However, a large-scale biological attack would likely result in an even greater amount of contamination, more areas that need to be cleaned and made safe, and a much greater cost to the American public. This article identifies gaps in decontamination policy and technical practice at the federal level and provides practical recommendations that will better enable the U.S. to undertake a biological decontamination response.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biosecurity of UPMC, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, USA. cfranco@upmc-biosecurity.org
authors.forename: Crystal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.forename: Nidhi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bouri
mesh_terms: D054045:Biological Warfare Agents; D023482:Bioterrorism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003666:Decontamination / Q000379:methods; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000639:trends*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods; D035082:Federal Government; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D054045:Biological Warfare Agents