Evaluation of Carpet Steam and Heat Cleaners as Biological Sampling Devices

Abstract

The efficacies of three types of carpet cleaners were evaluated as possible sampling devices for biological contaminants such as Bacillus anthracis spores. Residential, commercial, and industrial carpet cleaners were compared for their effectiveness in sampling contaminants. Room-size carpet pieces (8 10 ft) were inoculated with aerosolized B. globigii spores. Uniform deposition of aerosol spores across carpet surfaces was confirmed using core samples and reference coupon analyses. The industrial unit was the most-effective carpet cleaner (recovering 7080 of the inoculated spores). Re-aerosolization of sporesduring sampling was above the infectious dose. The potential use of industrial carpet cleaners as sampling devices is regarded as an important step forward in dealing with wide-area biological consequence management. Additional work is needed to develop this approach into a valuable, readily available sampling capability and to evaluate its applicability for decontamination.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2016
Accession Number
AD1009540

Entities

People

  • Jana Kesavan
  • Lalena Wallace
  • Lisa S. Smith
  • Vipin K. Rastogi

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Counter WMD
  • Engineered Resilient Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Data Sets
  • Decontamination
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Environmental Protection
  • Environmental Restoration And Remediation
  • Glass Fibers
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • Measurement
  • Public Health
  • Sampling
  • Security
  • Spores
  • Standards
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Test Methods

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Environmental Engineering.
  • Military/Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technology