Technical Report for Chlorine Dioxide Gas-Based N95 Decontamination and Reuse
"The FDA has yet to approve any of the submitted Emergency UseAuthorizations (EUAs) for decontamination of N95 FFRs with ClO2 gas. However, ifimplemented properly and adequate concentration of ClO2 gas and humidity ismaintained in the sterilization chamber or other space for an adequate duration toachieve a dose of at least 720ppmv-hrs, it is likely that ClO2 gas will completelyinactivate SARS-CoV-2 and harder-to-kill pathogens on N95 FFRs. This inference is based on results from similar viruses, but has not yet been confirmed directly forSARS-CoV-2 by peer-reviewed studies. Damage to the strap integrity and fit ofsome models of N95 FFR has been reported after ClO2 treatment, and thereforemodel-specific integrity of the FFRs used in each setting should be verifiedbefore implementing a ClO2 gas decontamination approach. We once againstress that (i) after each round of decontamination, a user seal check should beperformed, and (ii) extended cycles of doffing and re-donning may affect FFR fit."