This video will demonstrate how to use a cellulose sponge to sample for bacillus anthracis or anthrax. The sampling procedures demonstrated in this video should be used only on smooth non-porous surfaces such as stainless steel, painted wallboard, floor tile or wood laminate on areas up to 100 square inches. You should collect samples as part of a sampling plan and follow a health and safety plan to protect yourself. Directions on how to collect samples and specifications for sampling supplies are available on the NIOSH website. Before sampling with a cellulose sponge, the sampler and the assistant will each need a pair of new gloves, a ten-inch by ten-inch disposable template or a disposable ruler, tape, a cellulose sponge, buffer solution, a screw-cap specimen container, paraffin film, a re-sealable plastic bag and a permanent marker. Before you start, identify the sampler and the assistant. To minimize the potential for contamination, you should not change roles while collecting samples. The assistant will handle all the supplies, never touching contaminated surfaces. The sampler will only touch the supplies as the assistant hands them over. While in the contaminated area. Keep your supplies on clean surfaces. This can be done by working from five-gallon buckets or off clean disposable towels that you bring in with you. We will now demonstrate and explain how to collect a sample. The sampler and the assistant start by putting on new clean gloves. These gloves go on top of your normal personal protective equipment to prevent contamination of the sample. The sampler places a ten-inch by ten-inch template over the area to be sampled or the sampler can measure out an area no larger than 100 square inches. The assistant opens the sponge package without touching the sponge or its handle. The sampler removes the sponge by grasping only the sponge handle above the thumb stop. If the sponge is not pre-moistened, the assistant moistens it while the sampler continues to hold the sponge. The assistant opens and pours the buffer solution over the sponge. The sponge must absorb all of the solution. After the solution is poured on the sponge. Throw away the solution container. Do not reuse this container. The sampler will make three passes over the surface to be sampled and one pass around the inside of the perimeter using gentle, but firm pressure to ensure direct contact. These passes will be done in a horizontal, vertical and diagonal direction to cover the entire surface to be sampled before one pass is made around the inside of the perimeter. The sampler places the side of the sponge flat on the surface for the first pass. Then use horizontal strokes in an overlapping ‘S’-pattern to cover the entire surface. In the second pass, the sampler turns over the sponge to the clean side, places the side of the sponge on the surface and covers the area with vertical 'S'-strokes. These strokes are at a 90-degree angle to the first ones. In the third pass, the sampler turns the sponge to a clean edge, places the edge of the sponge on the surface and covers the area with diagonal 'S'-strokes. These strokes will be at a 45-degree angle to the first ones. In the fourth pass, the sampler places the full width of the sponge tip on the inside edge of the perimeter of the surface and wipes the inside of the perimeter one time. After the area has been covered three times and one pass is made around the inside of the perimeter, the sampler places the sponge into a specimen container. The sampler should not touch the container or insert the handle of the sponge beyond the thumb stop. The assistant opens and holds the container so the sampler can break off the head of the sponge by bending the handle at the score. The assistant caps and labels the container with a unique identifier, the sample location, the initials of the sampler and the date and time the sample was collected. The assistant then wraps the container with paraffin film to prevent leakage during shipment. The assistant places the sample into a re-sealable plastic bag, removes any excessive air, seals, then checks that the bag is watertight and labels the bag with the same information as on the specimen container. After sampling, the template should be left in place. The sampler and assistant remove their outer pair of gloves and discard them. When collecting the next sample, use a new template and new clean pair of gloves. For more resources, visit the NIOSH Anthrax topic page.