Anthrax Sampling and Decontamination: Technology Trade-Offs

The goal of this project was to answer the following questions concerning response to a future anthrax release (or suspected release) in a building:

1. Based on past experience, what rules of thumb can be determined concerning: (a) the amount of sampling that may be needed to determine the extent of contamination within a given building; (b) what portions of a building should be sampled; (c) the cost per square foot to decontaminate a given type of building using a given method; (d) the time required to prepare for, and perform, decontamination; (e) the eectiveness of a given decontamination method in a given type of building?
2. Based on past experience, what resources will be spent on evaluating the extent of contamination, performing decontamination, and assessing the eectiveness of the decontamination in a building of a given type and size?
3. What are the trade-os between cost, time, and eectiveness for the various sampling plans, sampling methods, and decontamination methods that have been used in the past?