High platelet content can increase storage lesion rates following Intercept pathogen inactivation primarily in platelet concentrates prepared by apheresis.

BACKGROUND: Pathogen inactivation methods for platelet concentrates are increasingly being used in blood banks worldwide. In vitro studies have demonstrated its effects on storage lesion, but little routine quality control data on blood banking outcomes have been reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Swirling of distributed products was monitored before and after implementation of Intercept pathogen inactivation. Metabolic parameters pH, glucose and lactic acid were determined in a random cohort of expired pathogen-inactivated products. Storage lesion indicators in apheresis concentrates with premature low swirling were compared to concentrates with normal swirling. RESULTS: During validation for implementing Intercept pathogen inactivation, pH and glucose levels decreased faster in apheresis platelet concentrates with high platelet content than with low platelet content or than in pathogen-inactivated pooled buffy coat-derived products. In routine products, glucose exhaustion was more often found in apheresis compared to buffy coat-derived platelet concentrates despite 3-7% more plasma carryover in the former. Annual incidence of premature low swirling increased significantly by 50% following implementation of pathogen inactivation implementation for apheresis but not for pooled buffy coat platelet concentrates. In addition, apheresis concentrates with premature low swirling had a significantly higher median platelet count (5·0 × 1011 ) than unaffected products (3·5 × 1011 ). CONCLUSION: The risk of increased storage lesion rates following Intercept pathogen inactivation is higher for apheresis than for buffy coat-derived platelet concentrates, especially when platelet contents are higher than 5·0 × 1011 .

A clay permeable reactive barrier to remove Cs-137 from groundwater: Column experiments.

Clay minerals are reputed sorbents for Cs-137 and can be used as a low-permeability material to prevent groundwater flow. Therefore, clay barriers are employed to seal Cs-137 polluted areas and nuclear waste repositories. This work is motivated by cases where groundwater flow cannot be impeded. A permeable and reactive barrier to retain Cs-137 was tested. The trapping mechanism is based on the sorption of cesium on illite-containing clay. The permeability of the reactive material is provided by mixing clay on a matrix of wood shavings. Column tests combined with reactive transport modeling were performed to check both reactivity and permeability. Hydraulic conductivity of the mixture (10(-4) m/s) was sufficient to ensure an adequate hydraulic performance of an eventual barrier excavated in most aquifers. A number of column experiments confirmed Cs retention under different flow rates and inflow solutions. A 1D reactive transport model based on a cation-exchange mechanism was built. It was calibrated with batch experiments for high concentrations of NH4+ and K+ (the main competitors of Cs in the exchange positions). The model predicted satisfactorily the results of the column experiments. Once validated, it was used to investigate the performance and duration of a 2 m thick barrier under different scenarios (flow, clay content, Cs-137 and K concentration).