STUART, FL, Sept. 19, 2005 -- Ecosphere Technologies Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of UltraStrip Systems Inc., is providing clean drinking water to 7,000 residents in Waveland, Miss., after deploying its Mobile Emergency Filtration System (MEFS) to the devastated area.
Ecosphere's MEFS is the nation's first high-volume Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-verified Homeland Security water filtration system. The Ecosphere MEFS converts highly contaminated water, including contaminants such as E. coli bacteria, chemical and other biological contaminants, into enough pure drinking water to meet the needs of approximately 10,000 people daily.
"One of the most frightening aspects of the hurricane is the total lack of safe drinking water," said Ecosphere founder Dennis McGuire. "Ecosphere is doing its part to ensure that as many people affected by Katrina have access to clean water as possible."
"Ecosphere's response to the Waveland tragedy was the most impressive emergency response I've seen in my 25 years of public service," said City Commissioner and former five-term mayor of Stuart, Fla., Jeff Krauskopf, who was on location. "Ecosphere's system was transported to Waveland and was up and running, restoring and serving clean water to the people of Waveland. In addition to saving lives, it restores human dignity to survivors to be able to start the day with a clean shower. "
In the case of a compromised water supply caused by a natural disaster such as Katrina or a terrorist incident, the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 requires 8,552 communities across the nation to have a response plan in place. The city of Stuart, in compliance with the Bioterrorism Act, named Ecosphere's parent company, UltraStrip, as the first responder company to an attack on its water supply.
The MEFS is a revolutionary solution to the world's water problems and has multiple applications including:
• Emergency Response: In the case of a natural disaster, such as the Southeast Asian tsunami or a terrorist attack
• Developing Regions: A clean source of drinking water to remote areas, where it is economically unfeasible to build a fixed water processing facility
• Remediation and Temporary/Backup Water Supply: Temporary emergency water for hospitals, military operations, jails, prisons and other facilities difficult to evacuate; onsite water treatment and remediation systems for industrial and agricultural applications.
The MEFS received EPA verification in March 2004. Three different challenge conditions were used in the testing, and the test data showed the MEFS removed the contaminants of concern to very low or non-detectable concentrations, according to the Engineering and Research Services for NSF International.
The Ecosphere self-contained unit is housed in a 40-foot, ISO-certified container and uses the following five-stage filtering process to produce up to 60,000 gallons of high quality water a day:
• Chlorine Removal System -- removes high levels of chlorine;
• Centrifugal Separation -- separates fragments and particles;
• Media Filtration -- removes particle to 5 microns;
• Activated Carbon Filtration -- removes organic pesticides;
• Ultra Filtration -- removes particles that range in size from 0.003 to .02 microns;
• Reverse Osmosis Filtration -- removes molecules, which range in size from 0.01 to .002 microns.
Leading the Ecosphere first-responder team is Senior Vice President Mickey Donn, who was project manager for the company's EPA verification testing. From 1994 to 2000, he served as president of one of the nation's largest first responder organizations, the Miami-Dade County Fire Fighters Association, a 1,700-member employee association for which he previously served as vice president and treasurer since 1982. Prior to assuming his current role at Ecosphere, he served as a senior executive for UltraStrip, including most recently as senior vice president of operations.
Complementing Donn, Ecosphere's management team has more than 60 years of combined first responder experience, including board advisor, Thomas Von Essen. In addition to providing consulting services to Ecosphere, Von Essen is currently a senior vice president at Giuliani Partners, where he serves as a top strategist for Giuliani's premier think tank on security and life safety issues. Von Essen previously was appointed and served as head of the New York City Fire Department during the administration of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, including the aftermath of the terrorist strike of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Ecosphere Technologies Inc. (www.ecospheretech.com), a wholly-owned subsidiary of UltraStrip Systems Inc., of Stuart, Fla., markets the first EPA-verified high-volume Mobile Emergency Filtration System for critical water requirements for natural disaster relief, homeland security, the military and agricultural use domestically and worldwide.
Founded in 1998, UltraStrip Systems Inc. (www.ultrastrip.com) is a water engineering and industrial automation company specializing in water filtration and industrial coating removal. The company enters new markets with innovative and transformational technologies that protect the environment, while enhancing quality of life throughout the world. More information can be found at.
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