Second life

A method for disinfecting PPE so it can be reused has great promise.

In response to a global shortages of PPE, a team of researchers led by Dr Yvonne Anderson, a senior lecturer at the Department of Paediatrics, University of Auckland, has successfully researched a method for disinfecting PPE so it could be reused or safely recycled.

“Safety of healthcare workers during the current pandemic is critical to reducing community transmission of COVID-19, and this requires readily available PPE,” says Dr Anderson. “However, it’s paramount that we also find ways to mitigate the ever-growing amount of medical waste that goes to landfills, or worse, that ends up polluting our lands, rivers, and seas, magnifying the global problem of plastic pollution.”

Dr Anderson and collaborator Dr José Derraik of the University of Auckland pulled together a team from the Universities of Auckland, Otago, Canterbury, Waterloo (Canada), and New Zealand’s AgResearch to collaborate on the project. The team tested UV light and dry heat for disinfecting clinical PPE. The study showed UV disinfection was not reliable on the irregular surfaces of PPE, but dry heat was effective. The researchers also found replication-competent virus remained on face masks for up to five weeks at room temperature. The research team is in the final stages, with help from the University of Canterbury.