As the U.S. military builds medical centers in west Africa to combat the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, an Elastec/American Marine Ebola task force is expediting a rush order for three ELASTEC MediBurn medical waste incinerators, ordered by the U.S. Army, to Sierra Leone. Jerry Aud and John Ditzel, MediBurn assemblers, Jeremy Pretzsch, sales manager, Rachel Ackerman, shipping agent, Kyle Rogers and Shelby Bachman, shipping department, worked quickly to process the order and to “hot shot” (ship overnight) the portable incinerators to Humble, Texas, where the MediBurns will be transported to Africa.
Pretzsch has been working with the United Nations and now, the U.S. Army, to provide MediBurns for the disposal of Ebola-exposed medical materials. Fueled by diesel, the 220 volt, two-chamber MediBurn is self-contained which means contaminated medical waste can be disposed of and completely burned on-site without transportation of the dangerous waste. The MediBurn’s intense heat assists in stopping the spread of the Ebola virus providing a responsible, complete and affordable means to dispose of exposed materials, reducing the burned material to a small pile of ash.
The MediBurn models requested by the U.S. Army can dispose of up to 8 cubic feet (0.22 cubic meters) of infectious and pathological waste per load with a burn rate of 20 kg per hour. They are simple to operate and require minimal maintenance. The small footprint of the MediBurn, 82 inches (2 meters) by 34 inches (0 .9 meters) by 62 inches (1.6 meters), allows for easy transportation to different locations with minimal effort.
Macer Delivery of Evansville, Indiana was contracted to “hot shot” the MediBurns by truck to Texas.