Government researchers have announced they have come up with a quick and safe cure for anthrax bacteria contamination.

Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee found that the ultraviolet portion of an arc plasma lamp can kill anthrax bacteria in a matter of seconds by destroying the cells' DNA. “Anthrax is difficult to destroy,” said ORNL researcher Ted Huxford. “This lamp has enough power to do that.”

Anthrax, an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis, is a preferred biological warfare agent because it is highly lethal and relatively easy to weaponize.

Up to 10% of the ORNL's 300,000-watt lamp is in the ultraviolet spectrum, making it far more lethal to bacteria than lower-powered mercury vapor and xenon lamps currently in use. The lamp is made by Vortek Industries, Vancouver, Canada.

The researchers also believe the plasma arc lamp can be used to neutralize chemical warfare agents.The process would involve spraying the area with a low-volume proprietary mixture of harmless chemicals and then zapping the area with the lamp. The light activates the mixture, which breaks down the chemicals, leaving behind a harmless powder.

According to researchers, this procedure has considerable advantages over methods that use foam, which is corrosive and damaging to electronics. In addition, the foam becomes contaminated and creates disposal issues.

ORNL has used the plasma arc lamp before. In 2002, it was used to help the Army solve a problem that causes major casualties to heavy artillery barrels. The problem was that normal wear from projectiles, propellants and combustion gases causes fatigue, erosion and corrosion in conventional gun barrel material, leading to cracks that render a weapon useless.

The lamp was used to metallurgically bond a metallic coating to a metal substrate to demonstrate that barrel materials can be made more resistant to these forces. Compared to mechanical bonding, metallurgical bonding results in far stronger bonds between the atoms of the coating and substrate.