Floodwater
Every drying and/or remediation project in a flooded structure should assume contamination. ThermaPureHeat® is one of the most thorough disinfection processes because of both efficacy toward the target and the ability to penetrate inaccessible areas. This process does not use chemicals or biocides and therefore no additional hazards are added to the space. It is unique as a disinfectant process because it thoroughly dries the structure and kills the unwanted pathogens and their insect vectors with the same treatment.
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Environmental Problems with Floodwater
Extensive flooding creates significant environmental health concerns. The potential contaminants in floodwaters include a variety of biological pathogens. Providing an ongoing health threat, many of these pathogens can remain viable in a structure for months. Some can remain longer in a moist environment. As structures dry, many become aerosolized and migrate within the building. Rodents and insects also act as vectors transporting these pathogens throughout a structure. Disinfection of this group of pathogens in flooded structures is a complex and demanding problem.
Floodwaters present non-biological contamination problems as well. Gasoline, pesticides and other chemicals may be carried by water into structures. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with many of these chemicals present a potential hazard to occupants as they slowly off-gas over the next several months.
Some of the Hazards in Floodwater
Pathogens found in buildings affected by sewage-impacted floodwaters include bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and helminthes. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) these pathogens impact human health. Listed in these categories are some of the more significant pathogens.
Occupants of flooded structures can be affected by a wide variety of routes and vectors making the resolution more complex. ThermaPureHeat® is the only process that effectively treats all of the pathogens present as well as impacting the vectors and routes.
High Temperature is an Effective Disinfection Process
Temperature is a more thorough intervention process in the inactivation of enteric pathogens. According to the WHO, “…heating to pasteurization temperatures (generally 60°C/140°F) for periods of minutes to tens of minutes will destroy most waterborne pathogens of concern”. This general statement may be adequate to recommend utilization of heat for the disinfection of floodwater-impacted structures.
The efficacy of ThermaPureHeat® in its simplest form is a result of the combination of temperature and duration. The complexity of any disinfection is achieving efficacy in all areas of the structure. What differentiates ThermaPureHeat® is the ability to disinfect the entire structure, including inaccessible areas. Buildings are complex and the requirement for uniform temperature throughout a structure is necessary to achieve efficacy. Heat technicians are thoroughly trained in construction materials, thermal dynamics and the intended targets. Buildings have materials that conduct heat, that create radiant losses, and that are heat sinks. The heat technician must understand each of these conditions and others. Temperatures are monitored real-time in difficult to heat locations. In a wooden structure these places might be under sill plates and between header boards. Crawlspaces and sub-areas provide additional difficulties. ThermaPureHeat® can treat all structures.
The process of pasteurization of a structure appears to uniformly impact these pathogens related to floodwaters. Other methods of disinfection are not as uniform in result. For example, Giardia cysts are resistant to chlorination and a wide range of pH. Studies have shown human rotovirus to be resistant to a wide variety of chemical disinfectants. Other methods may not be ovacidal, for example in the case of helminthes the eggs of Ascaris are more resistant than the larvae. Many disinfection processes are not as safe and are not as effective. Heat, as a disinfectant, is uniform and non-discriminatory in application. Pasteurization of a building is an effective process to reduce pathogens to safe levels.
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