Remediating without having to gut and toss

From anthrax on Capitol Hill to mold on Monkey Hill: Decontamination experts save homes and businesses

By: by Elizabeth Hofheinz, MPH, MEd

Recovery czar, rebuilding czar, cleanup czar. Sometimes, a czar carries a sabre.

Sterilization and decontamination experts Sabre Technical Services, headquartered in Albany, New York, are now familiar with the rhythm of life in post-Katrina New Orleans. Having saved over 100 homes and businesses in the city and surrounding area, Sabre is confident that much can be done to further the recovery of buildings and lives. Says Karen Cavanagh, chief operating officer, "My parents went to college in New Orleans. My mother still talks wistfully of her favorite restaurants. Being able to take part in the restoration of this unique city is an honor. I only wish we could do more."

If Cavanagh had her way, the city would be tented. For fumigation, that is. "Sabre has the only EPA registered product that uses a fumigant to kill mold throughout an entire structure," says Cavanagh. "We successfully eradicated anthrax from the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill and several U.S. Post Offices in 2001. In those situations, we knew that extreme measures were required. We were dealing with a weaponized form of anthrax, so gutting and burning were out of the question. Only a gas would reach into every nook and cranny and penetrate porous surfaces, and only a few gases work as a biocide. Out of the gas biocides, few are capable of killing spores and not adding toxicity to a building. We were the only ones who had what it took – chlorine dioxide in the capacity required for the job."

If you see a tent over a structure in New Orleans these days, it's likely that underneath that tent, chlorine dioxide ClO2 is working its magic. Traditionally utilized for things such as bleaching paper and disinfecting drinking water, ClO2 is also a powerful, rapid way of eliminating every trace of mold from a building. "The technology we use to rid buildings of mold is the same as that which we used on the government buildings in 2001. There are two generators in the world that produce ClO2 at high capacities. Sabre owns them both. One of our machines can make 100,000 pounds of chlorine dioxide per day, enough to fumigate 800 homes at one time. The average home in New Orleans can be fumigated in just four hours and costs $8 per square foot – in the long run, less expensive than stripping and gutting. Additionally, there are no visible or harmful residues on surfaces following treatment, and, because ClO2 decays naturally on its own, it doesn't need to be removed from surfaces or air spaces following treatment," said Cavanagh.

But before it decays, it gets everywhere. States Cavanagh, "Chlorine dioxide gas can readily penetrate cloth, fabrics, and paper, and has been shown to get beneath coffee cups, bottles, etc., that are sitting on hard surfaces and inactivate any underlying microorganisms. It will even flow through and fumigate a building's air conditioning system, behind walls, and into the subfloor." Bob De Felice, co-owner of Pascal's Manale, is already convinced. "The restaurant had approximately 22 inches of standing water for 17 days. Like so many other people, I was facing the prospect of stripping and gutting," said De Felice. "It was my good fortune to learn about Sabre, however. They saved me a significant amount of money and likely saved the building – all in 24 hours. It was really thrilling to open the door and be greeted with a new beginning. The wood looked as if it had been freshly milled and there was no trace of mold anywhere. Our cook, who had brought in some of his children's clothes to be fumigated, was especially thrilled when he saw that they were free of mold."

Another believer is Pastor Otto Duncan of the historic St. James A.M.E. Church at 222 North Roman Street. "Our 162 year old church, as well as our office, stood in three feet of water for two weeks. We salvaged what we could initially and then later, Sabre was helpful enough to store some of our items in one of their warehouses. In fact, they have very generously donated their fumigation services, which knocked out all of the mold in the office and saved us considerable time and expense. Once we get the roof of the church repaired, they'll be fumigating that too. Because of Sabre's generosity, the many hours that our parishioners have donated, and assistance from other generous donors, we are bouncing back. The help from above doesn't hurt either."

According to Karen Cavanagh, Sabre meets the highest standard of mold removal set by the FDA, leaving no viable spores behind. To rid a building of this fuzzy, unhealthy invader, Sabre has a straightforward process. "The day before the scheduled fumigation, we go in and set up equipment to monitor temperature and humidity, and gas concentration, among other things," says Cavanagh. "The next day, a team of six to eight people bring in the equipment and tent the building under a negative pressure. The generator creates the gas in a liquid loop, which then goes to an emitter that strips the gas and puts it into the building. The gas is contained in a closed air loop. The legal standard indicates that a certain concentration of ClO2 must be held for three hours. Thus, we constantly monitor the concentration and can make adjustments to the chemical flow if necessary. It takes approximately one to two hours to neutralize the building of gas, at which point the tent is removed. There is no special ventilation required afterwards, and no environmental testing or special cleanup is required."

Continues Cavanagh, "Gutting may be the right thing to do in the absence of chlorine dioxide fumigation. However, gutting only solves the visible part of the problem. If you gut down to the studs and then apply a bleach solution, you may kill live mold, but you're not killing spores. The mold loading is so high in most of these buildings that you still have a problem on your hands."

And although the immediate crisis has passed in New Orleans, the emergency stage lingers on for those whose lives have been left dangling. "I have been in New Orleans every other week since Katrina hit," Cavanagh says. "I know there's much we can do to help people put their homes and lives back together. We can fumigate two buildings almost as easily as one and can tent an entire street at one time. It's the economics of scale – with every house added the price is reduced by a certain percentage. We realize that for many New Orleanians life has never been more challenging. If we can help reduce some of the difficulty and stress in their lives, that would be something to celebrate."

For further information on Sabre Technical Services, please contact kcavanagh@sabretechservices.com or visit www.sabretechservices.com

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