Trump administration paying huge premium for mask-cleaning machines. Which don't do the job.

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-administration-paying-huge-premium-mask-cleaning-machines-which-don-n1210896

The president pressured the FDA to waive rules for mask-cleaning machines that ballooned to 10 times the original cost. But the machines appear to damage the masks.

May 20, 2020, 11:47 AM EDT
By Jonathan Allen, Phil McCausland and Cyrus Farivar

WASHINGTON — It sounded like a great deal: The White House coronavirus task force would buy a defense company’s new cleaning machines to allow critical protective masks to be reused up to 20 times. And at $60 million for 60 machines on April 3, the price was right.

But over just a few days, the potential cost to taxpayers exploded to $413 million, according to notes of a coronavirus task force meeting obtained by NBC News. By May 1, the Pentagon pegged the ceiling at $600 million in a justification for awarding the deal without an open bidding process or an actual contract. Even worse, scientists and nurses say the recycled masks treated by these machines begin to degrade after two or three treatments, not 20, and the company says its own recent field testing has only confirmed the integrity of the masks for four cycles of use and decontamination.

Nurses in several places across the country now say they are afraid of being at greater risk of acquiring COVID-19 while using N95 masks, which they say often don’t fit correctly after just a few spins through a cleaning system that uses vapor phase hydrogen peroxide to disinfect them.

The nurses, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution from their employers or the government, said they believe the machines, which are made by the Battelle Memorial Institute and have been promoted by President Donald Trump, were rushed into service as a shortcut to acquiring and manufacturing protective equipment.

“It’s a fairy tale,” said one nurse in Connecticut who works at a hospital where masks are run through the Battelle decontamination system. “It’s being done because we don’t have the policies in place to do what needs to be done, and people are going to be hurt because of it.”

</snip>

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

1. KnR for visibility...nt

[RainCaster]

2. Those machines do the exact intended job-

sending large amounts of money to GOP donors.

[hlthe2b]

3. Sadly, they should be doing what the rest of us are with our N95s--

paper bag them and leave them in hot sun on the car dashboard for 72 hours, rotating what little supplies provided even third day. This is what the 3m inventor of the N95 mask (Peter Tsai) recommended early on before these technical systems were introduced. I haven't seen him comment on the peroxide system (and he was opposed to any WET systems) though he had no issue with UV-C light disinfection as a general concept.

[forgotmylogin]

4. Does that actually work?

Paper bag on the dashboard in the sun?

Would it be better if the masks weren't in a bag, or is that to contain germs?

I thought most car windscreens had a U/V layer in the glass, but I may be mistaken.

[hlthe2b]

6. You can take them out and give direct sun after 24 hours or if you are not in the car

so as not to have a contamination concern.

Again. this is what Peter Tsai, Developer of 3m's N95 mask advised--again when asked about NON-technical methods. Search my earlier posts on this and you'll find a link to an interview. I'm not where I can do so since I am on my iphone.

The issue with leaving them on the windshield is for heat effects which inactivate the virus by itself but is likewise helped by UV light especially in the UV-c spectrum. A windshield in modern vehicles blocks 98% of UVA and UVB, likely UV-c as well. Still 2% may be helpful, but the heat is the issue..

As to your incredulity, I would advise you look up the interview with Peter T
His method (72 hour rotation and dry heat decontamination) has been used by my hospital, my sister's and those of three other colleagues at east coast hospitals). If you are a HCW, you should discuss with your infection control staff/administrators--but if they are recommending any kind of WET method you should be extremely wary.)

[forgotmylogin]

9. Thanks for the detail!

I just ordered some standard cloth masks from a company in CA and they recommend machine-wash after each use. I like the idea though of just keeping a paper bag in my car and dropping them there after use for a couple days of plain heat "decontamination" before handling them to put them in the laundry. Probably better than wrangling them back into the house with me and having them sit with my clothes in a basket. When I drive to do laundry I can just grab whatever has been sitting in the bag in the car and throw it in. Great ideas.

EDIT: And I do understand cloth is not N95, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to develop standard habits like this.

[hlthe2b]

10. Handmade cloth masks can certainly be effectively disinfected by washing. Not N95 masks, though

But yes, it wouldn't hurt to let them experience some heat for a couple days before washing if that works for you.

[Midnightwalk]

5. Another corrupt scheme

60 million for 60 machines

Instead of 60 million masks at the normal price of $1 per.

Each machine has to clean 1 million masks

I guess there would be one machine per state with some spares?

With the cost now over 400 million each machine would have to clean more than 6 million masks.

The logistical nightmare of shipping masks to a centralized cleaning facility boggles the mind.

Did I screw up the arithmetic? That money would have been better spent ramping up production.

The only way this makes sense is to give money to a donor

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Not Surprised About Degradation

With the charge broadly distributed on a polymer, the "hanging" methyl groups are read electron donors.
The peroxide could easily oxidize these sites to -ols, -als, or acyl groups.
Those would expand the polymer causing fiber tearing.
I can how that would work a few times.

[crickets]

8. If you can't outbid states for the equipment, if you can't send FEMA to steal it,

just make sure to hire someone who won't do the job to clean and maintain it properly. Don't forget to waste oodles of $$ while you're at it! Lather, rinse, repeat.