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Lexington, Mass. Company Awarded $99,000 for Project to Decontaminate Rail and Subway Cars

12/12/2016
Contact Information: 
EPA Public Affairs
617-918-1010

BOSTON - A Lexington business was awarded $99,000 from EPA to develop a technology to decontaminate railway and subway cars and protect workers from exposure to biological, chemical and radiological hazards.

TIAX LLC of Lexington, Mass. has developed a technology that meets EPA's need for decontamination of biological material in railway and subway cars. It encapsulates and kills biological contaminants at the same time it can also decontaminate chemical and radiological hazards. Technologies used today involve intense manpower and separate steps for site preparation; decontamination; wash-down; and recovery for waste disposal.

"This company is among those producing innovative and creative solutions for our country's environmental problems," said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA's New England office. "Small businesses are important to our efforts to find and create technologies that will help ensure a sustainable future for our country."

The TIAX technology combines tasks and reduces the manpower necessary to for the cleanup. It also protects workers from exposure and reduces the volume of hazardous waste needing disposal. The technology may be used in response to hazardous material releases in buildings and transportation systems, including trains, buses and aircraft.

TIAX LLC was one of 13 businesses nationwide to receive a total of $1.3 million for technologies aimed at helping to solve environmental issues. One other New England business, Revolution Inc. in Orono, Maine, was also awarded an EPA Small Business Innovation Grant under this competition.

Each contract for the Phase 1 of the Small Business Innovation Research grants provides up to $100,000 to develop green technology. If the first phase is successful, companies are eligible to apply for a Phase II contract of up to $300,000 to further develop and commercialize their technology for the marketplace.

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