Battelle to expand coronavirus mask decontamination to 60 sites around the country

Columbus, Ohio (April 10, 2020)—The Trump administration has awarded a new federal contract that will let Columbus-based Battelle spread its new mask decontamination system to 60 additional sites around the country amid a coronavirus pandemic that’s led to a shortage of the N95 respirator masks for health care professionals, according to Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman.

Each system can decontaminate up to 80,000 previously worn masks per day. With these additional regional sites, Friday’s decision will increase capacity to potentially decontaminate up to 4.8 million additional masks every day across the country, Portman said. The federal funding will let the company offer the service to health care personnel at no charge, said Portman, who worked with Battelle and the appropriate contacts at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the White House to help secure the necessary federal funding.

Read the full article here.