New program will allow U of L to decontaminate up to 7,000 respirator masks a day

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A new program at the University of Louisville is working to protect health care workers by addressing a shortage of medical grade face masks.

The university will sterilize used N95 respirator masks through a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-approved process that uses vaporized hydrogen peroxide. Each respirator can be decontaminated up to 20 times, according to Dr. Leslie Sherwood, assistant vice president for research services at U of L.

The decontamination program will be performed at the university's Health Sciences Center campus and will be free for those working in high-exposure environments, including hospitals and nursing homes.

"We plan to launch a website early next week ... where community organizations, healthcare professionals and first responders can register their organizations to participate in this program," Sherwood said Saturday during Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer's teleconference briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic.

U of L will have the capacity to decontaminate up to 7,000 N95 respirators a day, according to a news release from Fischer's office.

The VPH decontamination process was developed as a way to conserve personal protective equipment during the Ebola outbreak in 2014, according to the news release.