WINNIPEG -- A Winnipeg-based cannabis company has found a way to lend a hand to fight COVID-19.
Delta 9 Cannabis has turned its cannabis grow pods into decontamination pods that can clean medical supplies, PPE and other equipment.
"The area uses a combination of heat and UVC technology to effectively decontaminate any materials that are placed in the decontamination area for a cycle," said John Arbuthnot, the CEO of the company.
The "D-Pods", which are repurposed shipping containers, are divided up into two sections, the area that does the actual decontamination and the other section is where all the work is controlled.
"This is really leveraging studies that were done early this year which demonstrated that at a certain temperature, say above 60 degrees Celsius, and a certain duration of time, would be effective to kill the COVID-19 virus."
Arbuthnot said they have taken that study and made it into a larger scale and they run two-hour cycles on equipment and other items to ensure they have been cleaned.
He feels this new technology would be beneficial for many companies and organizations, including health care.
"The idea is for hospitals, for governments, for long term care facilities, that this could be used to decontaminate, again, whether it be equipment or medical equipment, supplies or PPE," Arbuthnot said.
"I think there is a large opportunity if we're to consider say, a hospital-type setting that is spending millions and millions of dollars a year now on very often single-use PPE. If this can even get one or two or three additional uses out of say, an N95 mask, it will increase the availability of PPE for our health-care system, it will decrease some of the strain and it will save our governments and health-care facilities in the process."
He noted this could even be used for sports leagues who are looking at bubble options, and it could help with the decontamination of equipment and other objects.
Each of these containers cost $250,000.
