Clanton Advertiser

By Anthony Richards

Published 1:51 pm Thursday, January 7, 2021

AgriClean recently installed CASPR (Continuous Air and Surface Pathogen Reduction) systems in seven county buildings and 12 county-owned vehicles.

The company completed the project on Dec. 29, which met the Dec. 30 deadline the Chilton County Commission had laid out for it.  Meeting the deadline insured that the Commission will have the opportunity to apply for reimbursement of the funds used for the project as part of the CARES Act.

AgriClean presented its plan to the Commission during its work session on Dec. 22, and the Commission approved it during a voting session that followed.  Although the deadline was much shorter than what AgriClean is used to, the company’s owner Terry Tucker was confident they could handle the challenge at hand.  According to Tucker, the four days was the least amount of installation time the company had ever had.  “This is the first time that we had such a deadline that we had to meet,” Tucker said. “We were ready and able to pull in the necessary people. I was very proud of our people for being able to get the job done.”

More than 70 units were installed during a four-day period as part of the project.  The extra personnel brought in to assist with the job included a pair of electricians and an automotive technician, who handled the wiring on all 12 vehicles.  The CASPR systems were installed to hook up with a buildings existing ventilation and HVAC system.  However, the vehicles are slightly different because the system uses its own fan in the unit that produces air to be blown through the catalytic converter.  According to Tucker, many municipalities have been using UV light to disinfect their vehicles.

“UV is a very good disinfectant, but the thing about it is that when they’re disinfecting a vehicle, you can’t have people occupying those vehicles,” Tucker said. “People can be in the vehicle (or building) with the CASPR working at the same time.”  The system has a two-year warranty and a life expectancy of eight to 10 years.  Tucker believes one of the best things about the CASPR system is that it cleanses the air and sanitizes surfaces and does so 24/7 and without extensive labor costs because it is tied into the HVAC system.

The CASPR system produces hydrogen peroxide gas that helps kill the germs in the area and is an all-natural product that has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.  “This is proven technology and has been third-party tested,” Tucker said. “It’s not just for COVID-19, this is good for a host of other microbials that we deal with daily that CASPR can eradicate. They actually use this technology in the International Space Station, so it’s been around for a while.”  Norris Broome of AgriClean initially reached out to Commissioner Jimmie Hardee about the disinfectant products they had and how they would like to make a presentation to the Commission.

AgriClean has installed CASPR systems in businesses, medical centers, schools and churches throughout the state.