Transit service experiments with germ-killing door handles
Local biotech company teams with city to install salt-based pads for pilot project
An Edmonton-based biotechnology company is offering its new door-opening surface to reduce the spread of germs in 10 city transit facilities during the COVID -19 pandemic.
Outbreaker Solutions is installing yellow push-plates on swing doors at select LRT stations and transit centres with the power to kill 99.9 per cent of bacteria in two minutes.
The plate, formally called antimicrobial compressed sodium chloride, consists of regular table salt that is compressed into a ceramic tile shape so it's safe to touch.
Company co-founder Matt Hodgson said research published this month shows the plates are effective in killing the majority of germs, including viruses, bacteria and fungi, in just a few seconds as a result of the salt crystals piercing the membrane walls of the germs, effectively neutralizing them. Typically, it takes up to two hours for a reduction in germs on other antimicrobial surfaces.
With research conducted through TEC Edmonton and the Ualberta Health Accelerator since 2018, Hodgson said they are excited to now pilot a product that can help deter the spread of COVID -19 or any other viruses.
“Our company is all about trying to prevent the spread of harmful pathogens on commonly-touched surfaces because after all, 80 per cent of infections are spread by our hands,” Hodgson told reporters Thursday morning. “We come in contact with some kind of contaminated surface and since we're really bad at keeping our fingers out of our noses and mouths, pathogens enter our body, we become affected and this vicious cycle continues.”
Installation of the push-plates began at Bay/enterprise Square LRT Station Tuesday and will be added at nine other highly frequented transit facilities without automatic doors during the next month. Outbreaker Solutions joined forces with the city to offer the germ-killing surfaces for a six-month pilot project with the opportunity to extend based on results and user feedback.
Craig Mckeown, Edmonton Transit Service director of LRT operations and maintenance, said there is no cost to taxpayers for this pilot partnership since the city is providing space for the product to be tested free of charge. He is hopeful it will benefit the health and safety of transit users and be extended if deemed necessary in the summer.
“It's a great local story,” Mckeown said. “We're incredibly happy that we're able to support local, homegrown innovation and Edmonton talent and it's at no cost to the taxpayer so we're providing the public platform to the benefit of both innovation and the safety of our ridership.”
But the work for the city doesn't stop there to improve health and safety on the transit system. Between late January and March, new antimicrobial seats will be installed on about two-thirds of the LRT fleet. These seats will have an additive in the plastic that can kill up to 99.9 per cent of microbes in two hours.
Buses, LRT trains and stations are also being regularly cleaned with electrostatic sprayers. Riders must wear a mask on the transit system under the city's bylaw and operators are also now being asked to wear masks at all times, even when behind the Plexiglas barrier which is a listed exemption.