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Contracts Awarded for Homeland Security Decontamination Technologies

Release Date: 12/04/2002
Contact Information:


Suzanne Ackerman 202-564-7819/ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov


(12/04/02) As part of its commitment to homeland security, EPA announced contract awards totaling $350,000 to five small businesses to develop technologies that remove biological contaminants that pose a threat to public health. Continuum Dynamics Inc. of Ewing, N.J., will develop a portable decontamination unit for high-value objects that uses electrically charged oxygen to destroy pathogens without harming the contaminated object, operator or environment. Successful completion of this project may be applied to commercial sterilization equipment for the food and health care industries. Oliver Exterminating Corp. of Lauderhill, Fla., will employ techniques adapted from pest-control fumigation to remove microbial contaminants from buildings. Foster-Miller Inc. of Waltham, Mass., will work on electrically charged aerosol decontamination techniques, which minimize response personnel’s exposure through shorter decontamination times and greater penetration of cracks and crevices. PlasmaSol Corp. of Hoboken, N.J., will create a portable decontamination unit that is capable of sterilizing buildings at normal air temperatures instead of requiring very high temperatures. Compact Membrane Systems Inc. of Wilmington, Del., will develop a protective coating for windows, surfaces and walls effective against a variety of microbial contaminants. In the future, this technology could be introduced into heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems to reduce the incidence of infection in hospitals and other buildings. The contracts were awarded through EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program for commercial ventures that protect the environment and quality of life, increase productivity and economic growth and improve the international competitiveness of the U.S. technology industry. To learn more about these projects, see: ttp://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.researchCategory/rcname/Clean%20Air. Additional information about EPA’s SBIR program is available at: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/sbir/.