COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus-based Battelle announced on Friday that it will be offering its N95 respirator mask decontamination services at no charge to health care providers thanks to a new federal contract.
According to a news release from the company, the new contract awarded by the federal government will fund the cost of decontaminating the masks up to $400 million across 60 deployment sites.
Battelle says their CCDS Critical Care Decontamination System is operating in central Ohio, Long Island, New York and Washington State. More systems will be operating in Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago and the National Capital Region.
In March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Battelle’s system at "full capacity." The system works by exposing used respirator masks to concentrated, vapor phase hydrogen peroxide to decontaminate biological contaminates, including SARS-CoV-2 which causes the COVID-19 illness.
The system aims to help health care workers on the front lines have access to the personal protective equipment needed for treating patients.
Battelle's new contract was awarded by the Defense Logistics Agency on behalf of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the company says.
The contract will cover Battelle's associated costs of staffing and training system operators.
“Since bringing the first system online, we have received hundreds of requests for CCDS systems and services,” Battelle’s Contract Research President Matt Vaughan said in a statement. “The contract awarded to Battelle will allow us to staff additional systems to provide a continuous buffer against current and future N95 supply chain challenges. Battelle is thankful for the federal government’s support, including the teams at FEMA, DLA, and HHS. We are especially appreciative of the efforts of U.S. Senator Rob Portman, who helped facilitate key conversations in a very short timeframe.”
The company says FEMA and HHS will determine where systems will be placed for operation in the future.
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