Practical Applications, Inc. Receives Second  Contract for NIH/NIAID BioSafety Labs Project

For immediate release: Wednesday, September 7, 2005.

Boston, MA—Practical Applications, Inc. (PAI) has won the bid to design and build the Biological Decontamination System (BDS) for the 33,000 square foot Global Health Research Building (GHRB) at Duke University.
The BDS will be used to kill biological pathogens found in laboratory wastewater generated by the university as it studies infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, SARS and influenza.
The system is a 100% automated treatment process, comprised of two identical 700 gallon (2,649 liter) reactors with 100% redundancy, and will use concentrated sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) as the main decontamination agent.
Operated using an Allen/Bradley SL/C505 PLC and touch screen operator interface, the system can process 33,000 gallons (12,400 liters/day) of wastewater per day. The effluent will be monitored for pH, flow, total chlorine, and will be tied into the buildings central supervisory system for remote monitoring.
In 2003 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) approved funding for regional biocontainment laboratories to study infectious diseases that, theoretically, could be used by terrorists.  The
Duke facility is part of the Southeast Regional Center of Excellence for Emerging Infections and Biodefense (SERCEB), a consortium that includes the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt, the University of Alabama at Birmingham,
the University of Florida and Emory. Other universities constructing similar facilities include Boston University and the University of Texas Medical Branch at
Galveston, which will both be National Biocontainment Laboratories, classified as BSL-4, studying viruses such as Ebola and Anthrax.
The project is led by Joshua Jondro, Project Engineer / Chemical Engineer. PAI will complete the system’s equipment fabrication at its South Boston Fabrication Facility, delivery is expected to be spring 2006.

Boston-based Practical Applications, Inc. specializes in the design, installation, and maintenance of industrial process water and wastewater systems. The company provides services and support to a wide variety of industries in the United States and abroad.
Its turn-key, skid-mounted treatment systems and system components are available worldwide.