Source reduction in an anthrax-contaminated mail facility

Following the 2001 bioterrorist attacks using letters containing Bacillus anthracis spores, a number of sites had to be decontaminated. Source reduction-the process of reducing biocontamination levels prior to the main decontamination treatment-is a critical step in decontaminating buildings. Such activities include the removal of items from a facility either for off-site treatment and reuse or ultimate disposal, as well as the pretreatment of certain surfaces in the facility. In addition, waste disposal activities are initiated during the source reduction process and continued throughout the overall remediation process. This article presents the source reduction and waste disposal activities at the Department of State (DoS) Diplomatic Pouch and Mail Facility (SA-32) in Loudoun County, Virginia. At this facility, nearly all materials were removed before the fumigations with vaporized hydrogen peroxide. The materials that were removed from the site were divided into essential and nonessential items, and nonessential items were further categorized as recyclable or not recyclable. Removed materials were subjected to 5 different decontamination technologies, either before or after removal. The surfaces of large, fixed items and interior facility structures were pretreated and then fumigated. Environmental sampling was performed throughout the source reduction process for quality assurance purposes. The source reduction process lasted about 9 months and cost about $4.3 million. The overall remediation process took about 16 months and cost $8.6 million.