Document ID: EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0467-0026
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2016-08-10T04:00Z

here are some of the key points of my review:
 Selection for heavy metal resistant organisms
 Does chelation matter.  The published studies of the use of copper clad/copper coated materials in the healthcare setting do not appear to use chelators so unclear whether their results are being influenced by copper ion carrier-over into their recovery media.
 EPA method does mention chelation but lacks details of what should be used.  There might be a benefit to run a validation study to evaluate whether chelation makes a difference in the culture method thereby influencing log recovery.
 Drying of inocula on surface will yield some loss of test organisms and may not be able to be teased out from the activity of copper even with using the stainless steel coupon controls.  That said a 1 hr dry time may not yield significant loss of test organism.
 With other antimicrobial agent impregnated materials one could use the unimpregnated (same base material) as a control.
 With regards to porous materials.  We still need a universally agreed upon protocol (even for non-impregnated materials).  Results would have to translatable and not impacted by the microbial recovery issues.