Decontamination of N95 Respirators with Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide (VHP)

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is executing high-impact projects to help answer critical questions about the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Vital personal protective equipment such as filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) is in limited supply due to high demand. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has provided guidance for decontamination and reuse of FFRs where shortages exist, and vaporous hydrogen peroxide (VHP) is one of their recommended decontamination methods. S&T tested the effectiveness of an FDA-approved VHP system for FFR decontamination against SARS-CoV-2.