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CNN Saturday Morning News

Environmental Cleanup Agencies Aid in Bioterrorism Detection

Aired October 20, 2001 - 09:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In the rash of anthrax exposures, one industry is cleaning up, literally.

CNN medical correspondent Rea Blakey explains professional remedy company's role in the anthrax investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REA BLAKEY, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's a new reality in America. It features people in biosafety suits searching for anthrax, especially in the workplace.

Environmental cleanup companies are called in to cool down hot zones. Anthrax presents a new challenge.

MARC MASON, CLEAN HARBORS ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES: There isn't a substantial amount of data regarding contamination and contamination cleanup.

BLAKEY: Marc Mason is a safety manager at Clean Harbors Environmental Services. The company controls, contains, and cleans up hazardous material.

MASON: There are no totally safe chemicals, because every chemical that you may use to clean has its drawbacks and its pluses.

BLAKEY: Clean Harbors decontaminates with a solution of bleach and water. The company says multiple applications could be required, since a single application will not likely kill all the anthrax spores. Though some spores may remain, it would take 8,000 to 50,000 spores to cause human infection.

MASON: It may be that we go in and do a follow-up cleaning again with a bleach and water solution. It may be a hand wipe-down, it may be -- you know, they may propose other disinfectants.

BLAKEY: Several chemical substances are used as anthrax disinfectants, chloride or bleach solution, peracetic acid, formaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, or iodine. But formaldehyde can also kill healthy human cells, not the ideal cleaning agent for Senate offices or private businesses where employees will return to work.

Peter Beucher of Environmental Foam Technologies, claims tests show his product, Easy Decon (ph), is both effective against anthrax and environmentally safe.

PETER BEUCHER, ENVIROFOAM TECHNOLOGIES: We have put together prior to this past week a specific anthrax blend of Easy Decon that's engineered specifically for the remediation of anthrax.

BLAKEY: The company is being considered to handle the cleanup at the Hart Senate Building.

BEUCHER: We're recommending upward to an hour contact with the direct spore of anthrax to effectively kill that material. So it's a big advantage that you can apply it in a foam fashion.

BLAKEY: But remediation expert Mason says there's a caveat.

MASON: There is a potential to have residuals any time you have contamination of any sort. I think the objective is to achieve safe levels, which are safe for occupancy.

BLAKEY (on camera): Just what are safe and acceptable levels of residual anthrax? Well, there doesn't seem to be a specific answer to that question just yet.

Keep in mind, before September 11, there were only 18 reported cases of anthrax disease during the past 100 years, and none of those occurred in a public building or a place where the public frequents.

Rea Blakey, CNN, Washington.

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