title: Evaluation of peracetic acid fog for the inactivation of Bacillus anthracis spore surrogates in a large decontamination chamber.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sporicidal (inactivation of bacterial spores) effectiveness and operation of a fogging device utilizing peracetic acid/hydrogen peroxide (PAA). Experiments were conducted in a pilot-scale 24 m(3) stainless steel chamber using either biological indicators (BIs) or bacterial spores deposited onto surfaces via aerosolization. Wipe sampling was used to recover aerosol-deposited spores from chamber surfaces and coupon materials before and after fogging to assess decontamination efficacy. Temperature, relative humidity, and hydrogen peroxide vapor levels were measured during testing to characterize the fog environment. The fog completely inactivated all BIs in a test using a 60 mL solution of PAA (22% hydrogen peroxide/4.5% peracetic acid). In tests using aerosol-deposited bacterial spores, the majority of the post-fogging spore levels per sample were less than 1 log colony forming units, with a number of samples having no detectable spores. In terms of decontamination efficacy, a 4.78 log reduction of viable spores was achieved on wood and stainless steel. Fogging of PAA solutions shows potential as a relatively easy to use decontamination technology in the event of contamination with Bacillus anthracis or other spore-forming infectious disease agents, although additional research is needed to enhance sporicidal efficacy.
authors: United States Environmental Protection Agency, National Homeland Security Research Center, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA. wood.joe@epa.gov
authors: Joseph P
authors: JP
authors: Wood
authors: Michael Worth
authors: MW
authors: Calfee
authors: Matthew
authors: M
authors: Clayton
authors: Nicole
authors: N
authors: Griffin-Gatchalian
authors: Abderrahmane
authors: A
authors: Touati
authors: Kim
authors: K
authors: Egler
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols; D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000187:drug effects*; D003666:Decontamination / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D004202:Disinfectants; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D004867:Equipment Design; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D010463:Peracetic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012973:Sodium Hypochlorite; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects*; D013193:Stainless Steel; D013696:Temperature; D014934:Wood
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D004202:Disinfectants; D013193:Stainless Steel; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D012973:Sodium Hypochlorite; D010463:Peracetic Acid