Mask decontamination facility to cease operations Friday

MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — Back in May of 2020, WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News gave you a look at the Battelle Decontamination site housed in Madison County.

The Battelle Memorial Institute constructed almost 50 of these facilities across the nation in an effort to help decontaminate personal protection equipment for hospitals and healthcare workers.

Now, nearly a year after construction, the sites are no longer needed.

“PPE was not available those first several months of the pandemic. I think it was crucial there in the beginning, but as time has gone on and production has gone up, PPE became readily available. When it became readily available, the need for cleaning got less and less,” said Jason Moore, the director of the Emergency Management Agency in Madison County.

The site in Madison County started by the McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport, but eventually moved to Law Road off Interstate 40.

Moore says that the facility is one of the last decontamination sites left, and at its height, served over 20 states with decontamination needs.

“Several of them had closed down across the country, and the one here in Jackson was supporting all of those states,” Moore said.

That translates to a minimum 60,000 masks cleaned since the site opened. As a bonus, it cost taxpayers nothing, and even brought in some local jobs.

“It did provide about 30 jobs, local jobs. Although temporary, it did support jobs for nine months,” Moore said.

The cooperation between FEMA, the state, and the county helped local leaders recognize what they do well and what they can do better.

“There were some lessons learned. Not just on a national level, but locally, we’ve learned that stockpiling in climate controlled conditions is definitely a thing to look at,” Moore said.

The Madison County facility is expected to cease operations this Friday.