title: Challenges in disposing of anthrax waste.
abstract: Disasters often create large amounts of waste that must be managed as part of both immediate response and long-term recovery. While many federal, state, and local agencies have debris management plans, these plans often do not address chemical, biological, and radiological contamination. The Interagency Biological Restoration Demonstration's (IBRD) purpose was to holistically assess all aspects of an anthrax incident and assist in the development of a plan for long-term recovery. In the case of wide-area anthrax contamination and the follow-on response and recovery activities, a significant amount of material would require decontamination and disposal. Accordingly, IBRD facilitated the development of debris management plans to address contaminated waste through a series of interviews and workshops with local, state, and federal representatives. The outcome of these discussions was the identification of 3 primary topical areas that must be addressed: planning, unresolved research questions, and resolving regulatory issues.
authors: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Northwest Regional Technology Center, 1100 Dexter Ave. North, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. ann.lesperance@pnl.gov
authors: Ann M
authors: AM
authors: Lesperance
authors: Steve
authors: S
authors: Stein
authors: Jaki F
authors: JF
authors: Upton
authors: Chris
authors: C
authors: Toomey
mesh_terms: D055885:Biohazard Release / Q000517:prevention & control*; D023482:Bioterrorism / Q000517:prevention & control; D003666:Decontamination; D004189:Disaster Planning; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D017744:Medical Waste Disposal / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence
chemical_list: D017744:Medical Waste Disposal