Somerville's Old Kmart Lot To Be N95 Mask Sterilization Site
SOMERVILLE, MA —A former Kmart parking lot in Somerville will soon be home to mask-sterilizing technology recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the fight against the new coronavirus. The decontamination system is said to treat up to 80,000 N95 masks pers day and will be the fourth of its kind nationwide.
Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders called it "a significant win for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."
"The principal benefit of this turn-key system is that it is fully staffed, industry-grade and brings a level of quality assurance that will allow hospital teams to concentrate on other priorities," Sudders said.
N95 masks can be decontaminated nine to 10 times before having to be disposed and according to Sudders, the system could cover the entire state's demand for sterilized masks over time. The site will be operational by Monday, April 6.
The system will sit across from Partners Healthcare's Assembly Row campus, who is a partner in the project. Battelle, an Ohio-based chemical defense contractor, owns the technology. It will cost $3.25 to disinfect a mask, but prices are estimated to go down over time.
Personal protective equipment, especially N95 masks, have been in short supply across the country. A New England Patriots jet carrying 2 million masks is set to land Thursday night, with one million of them meant for Massachusetts medical providers, according to Gov. Charlie Baker.
"I don't believe we'll ever have enough masks," Baker said in a Thursday press conference.
This article originally appeared on the Somerville Patch
