Battelle PPE Cleaning System

Virginia has strategically placed three Battelle Decontamination Systems across the Commonwealth to serve and support large regional areas. The three sites targeted are:

  • VA Tech Campus – Marching Virginian’s Pavilion (Blacksburg, VA)
  • Hampton Roads Sanitation District – Warehouse Site (Newport News, VA)
  • Chesterfield County Fairgrounds – Vietnam Veteran’s Pavilion (Chesterfield, VA)

UPDATE 07.31.2020: Due to a lack of use the Battelle systems in Hampton Roads and the VA Tech Campus will be decommissioned in the middle of August. The Chesterfield site is expected to remain open into the Fall.

These units will be primary resources to support hospitals, long-term care facilities, jails, assisted living facilities, alternate care sites, and other primary health care providers. The use of this system is voluntary and provided at no cost to participating agencies and organizations, including healthcare providers and first responders.

The Battelle system in the CVHC region is located in Chesterfield County and is anticipated to be operational by Tuesday, May 12th. It is FDA approved to use vapor phase hydrogen peroxide to decontaminate non-cellulose based N95 masks up to 6 times.  It will operate 24/7 for approximately 90 days and has the capacity to decontaminate thousands of N95 masks per day. See the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) Letter

CLICK HERE to see the number one reason masks cannot be cleaned and must be discarded

Guidance Document

Registering with Battelle

Use of this system is voluntary and provided at no cost to participating agencies and organizations, including healthcare providers and first responders. However, your agency or organization must register with Battelle to receive your required site code. To register, you must:

  1. Review this page’s information and the FAQ page which will briefly describe the program. 
  2. Determine if your agency or organization would like to participate in the program. 
  3. Designate a contact to register your agency or organization with Battelle. This will include signing a digital service agreement and requesting a site code.
    • Note: You must select YES for “logistics/shipping support” to receive your prepaid FedEx labels for shipping. You will receive 10 initially and may request more as needed. 
  4. Fill out the Site Locations and POC Information form to be returned to [email protected]
    • Note: Each row of data in the excel sheet should be for a physical location at which you would like to send and receieve masks. Example: A countywide fire department would want to put in a line for each firehouse so each can send and receive masks directly.

Agency or Organization Responsibilities

You must properly label and package your N95 masks. To do this, you will need to: 

  1. Train staff on proper N95 mask labeling, to include individual’s name, agency or organization site code (provided by Battelle), and site location ID (optional use designated by the facility to sort masks internally), as described in the attached documentation:
  2. Designate a mask collection area within your agency or organization for properly labeled masks. 
  3. Prepare collection bags for shipment as described in the attached documentation: 
  4. Complete the Chain of Custody form, provided by Battelle after agency or organization registration.  If possible, put the completed chain of custody form in a packing list sleeve on the exterior of the box.

Shipping PPE for Decontamination

The Chesterfield and Hampton Roads sites will accept both hand delivery and pick-up, hand deliveries CANNOT be received at the Blacksburg location. The packaging instructions will stay the same for hand delivery as if it were being shipped, but the bags of masks can be put into a plastic bin and delivered to the site. This will reduce turnaround time (2-3) days versus shipping by Fedex (5-7 days).

If hospitals or other healthcare providers use Cardinal, you can use this service for shipping as well. However, FedEx and Cardinal are the only two shippers that Battelle will accept.

N95 Masks must be properly packaged for shipment through FedEx. In person drop-off or pick-up can occur at the site if the agency or organization has enrolled and has a 3 letter agency or organization designation code, and all packaging requirements are met. The site is located at:

Chesterfield County Fairgrounds
Veterans Memorial Building
10300 Courthouse Road, Chesterfield, VA 23832
Enter at Gate 3

Battelle FedEx Shipping Logistics How-to 

To properly ship masks for decontamination, agencies and organizations must: 

  1. Double-bag all contaminated N95 masks and place into a rigid container (cardboard box) for shipping, in accordance with Battelle’s guidelines. It is very important that every N95 is properly labeled and are free of any visible soiling.
    • Note: Any poly bags can be used for transport, including trash bags, biohazard bags, etc. 
    • The second poly bag must be decontaminated with a cleaning solution before placing into the rigid container. 
    • Place a biohazard label onto the outer bag (use the sample one or your own)
  2. Download, fill out, and print two copies of the Chain of Custody form per shipping box, per shipment. Please provide one copy of the completed form inside each shipping box, and placed one completed copy either behind the FedEx shipping label inside the shipping sleeve or on the outside of the box where it can be seen.
  3. Affix a UN3373 label to the shipping container. Place the whole label form pdf on the outside of each shipping box, on the same side as the Fedex label.
    • The completed package should contain less than 8.8lb/4kg of N95s to comply with shipping boxes next to the FedEx shipping label.
    • VERY IMPORTANT: Please write your 3-digit site code on the outside of each of your shipping boxes next to the FedEx shipping label.
  4. Affix a pre-paid FedEx shipping label to prepare the container for shipment, provided by Battelle.
    • Print your FedEx shipping labels on-demand by visiting the Battelle CCDS™ Client Shipping Portal
  5. Arrange for FedEx pickup of the shipping container by doing one of the following:
    • Go to Battelle CCDS™ Shipping Portal
    • Call 800-GoFedEx (800-463-3339 x0 then say “Representative”)
    • Schedule an Express pickup online if registered online
    • Drop off the package to one of the FedEx Express stations
  6. Decontaminated masks will be returned to the agency or organization via FedEx (estimated 3-5 days for return) or should be available for pick-up 2-3 days after drop-off.

FAQ

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Who is distributing PPE for the Commonwealth?
The Commonwealth continues to work diligently to acquire as much PPE as possible. As additional purchased material is received by the Commonwealth, the Virginia Emergency Support Team (VEST) will continue to distribute PPE to end users across the state in order to meet critical needs until the normal supply chain is restored.
My LTC cannot secure an adequate level of PPE through normal channels.
The Commonwealth may be able to support critical resource requests: Healthcare facilities, including skilled nursing facilities, can contact their regional healthcare coalition. For agencies in the central region please use this form.
My ALF cannot secure an adequate level of PPE through normal channels.
The Commonwealth may be able to support critical resource requests:
Assisted living facilities can contact their regional Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) licensing office. Additional guidance for assisted living facilities is available on the VDSS website.
What is FEMA doing for PPE in the commonwealth?
  • The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will coordinate two shipments totaling a 14- day supply of PPE to nursing homes in Virginia, as part of a larger mission to provide PPE to more than 15,000 nursing homes across the Nation.
  • These supplies from FEMA will supplement the Commonwealth's existing efforts to ensure nursing homes have PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • FEMA will ship PPE to Medicaid- and Medicare-certified nursing homes based on input from the American Health Care Association to serve as a bridge between other PPE shipments.
  • Each nursing home in Virginia will receive an allotment of surgical masks, gloves, gowns and eye protection based on the staffing size of the facility.
  • Shipments of the first seven-day supply are expected to begin later in May.
  • Shipments of an additional seven-day supply will begin in June.
How does the Battelle Critical Care Decontamination System work?
The Battelle CCDSTM uses a concentrated hydrogen peroxide vapor to decontaminate N95 masks, which can sustain up to 20 decontamination cycles without degrading filtration performance.
What type of masks can be decontaminated using the Battelle system?
Battelle has been authorized under a FDA EUA to decontaminate N95 or N95 equivalent filtering facepiece respirators (FFR or respirators) that do not contain cellulose. Respirators that contain cellulose-based materials are excluded from the Battelle CCDSTM EUA and cannot be processed using Battelle CCDSTM. See this Guide for identifying which respirators can be cleaned.
How much will I be charged for using the system?
Nothing! These systems are federally funded through FEMA and the Defense Logistics Agency, and health care providers will not be charged for the decontamination services.
Who can help me with getting my staff fit-tested for N95 respirators?
If possible, LTCFs should develop a plan to have all staff fit-tested for N95 respirators. Some local health departments have the capacity to offer fit testing. Other options include coordinating with the Virginia National Guard (VANG), local fire department or EMS agency for this service. The VANG can provide training and education on proper use of PPE, fit-testing, and coaching around some infection control practices. Requests for VANG deployment need to be coordinated with the local health district. Local health systems may also be able to offer consultative services, online training modules, and/or education regarding the use of PPE including donning/doffing examples. CDC videos on donning and doffing are available here.

See also: Healthcare Provider Fact Sheet

Questions

Questions regarding the Battelle decontamination system can be directed to:

NameTitlePhone Number
LoriAnn WilsonBattelle Representative, Chief of Staff614-424-7888
Robert PaxtonVDEM540-629-4031
Donna PletchVDEM Region 1 Chief Regional Coordinator804-484-4198
CDC RVA 46Chesterfield Battelle Site614-716-8440