Mobile bird disposer introduced

Sanitec Industries successfully has completed a large-scale avian flu containment and disposal test involving a unique truck-based mobile system that completely eliminated the biological threat from 1,000 kg of turkey carcasses.

United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state emergency management officials who monitored or reviewed the test concluded that the truck-based mobile system would be a powerful weapon in what many believe may be an all-out effort to stop the spread of H5N1 in the US.

The mobile emission-free bio-medical waste treatment system is currently in use by more than 1,000 US healthcare facilities. Worldwide, Sanitec systems have treated over 150,000 tonnes of infectious waste.

Designed to exceed the requirements of an H5N1 outbreak within a large scale poultry plant, the March 15th test, the results of which were released this week, involved processing tissue samples infused with Salmonella bacteria and a type of bacterial spore related to Anthrax along with over 1,000 kg of turkey carcasses.

Unlike incineration, which merely transforms biohazard material into other dangerous waste products, Sanitec systems are the only self-contained disposal units that utilize a patented microwave disinfection system that eliminates bacterial and viral pathogens.

The Sanitec system first shreds the infected matter and then adds high-pressure high temperature steam. The shredded material is then moved through an auger where six industrial microwaves ovens cook the material from the inside out, exposing the waste to heat of more than 100 degrees Celcius for up to seventy-five minutes. According to experts, heating H5N1 infected tissue to between 55 - 63 degrees C is sufficient to render the virus harmless. Each Sanitec unit can process over 100 tons per week of bio hazardous waste including birds infected with avian flu.

For a detailed description of the Sanitec Microwave Healthcare Waste Disinfection System visit the Sanitc website .