FEMA recently announced that three Battelle Critical Care Decontamination Systems are up and running in Virginia.​ Each system is capable of decontaminating up to 80,000 N95 respirators per day with a hydrogen peroxide vapor. The decontamination service will be provided free of charge to health care workers (which includes dental practices) and each N95 respirator can be decontaminated up to twenty times.  

The Virginia systems will be located in Chesterfield County in Central Virginia, Newport News and Blacksburg. Another Battelle unit is operational in Washington, DC to help serve the Northern Virginia market. Governor Northam announced the arrival of the systems earlier this month. 

Each dental practice will need to set up an account to begin using the Battelle system.

For more information on the Battelle system, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions from Battelle. Health care providers can review instructions for preparing respirators and a Fact Sheet for more details on the Battelle system.