Decontamination of materials contaminated with Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus thuringiensis Al Hakam spores using PES-Solid, a solid source of peracetic acid

AIMS: To develop test methods and evaluate survival of Bacillus anthracis Ames, B. anthracis ∆Sterne and B. thuringiensis Al Hakam spores after exposure to PES-Solid (a solid source of peracetic acid), including PES-Solid formulations with bacteriostatic surfactants. METHODS AND RESULTS: Spores (≥ 7 logs) were dried on seven different test materials and treated with three different PES-Solid formulations (or preneutralized controls) at room temperature for 15 min. There was either no spore survival or less than 1 log (<10 spores) of spore survival in 56 of 63 test combinations (strain, formulation and substrate). Less than 2.7 logs (<180 spores) survived in the remaining seven test combinations. The highest spore survival rates were seen on water-dispersible chemical agent resistant coating (CARC-W) and Naval ship topcoat (NTC). Electron microscopy and Coulter analysis showed that all spore structures were intact after spore inactivation with PES-Solid. CONCLUSIONS: Three PES-Solid formulations inactivated Bacillus spores that were dried on seven different materials. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: A test method was developed to show that PES-Solid formulations effectively inactivate Bacillus spores on different materials.