This video will demonstrate how to use a macrofoam swap 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 four 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 macrofoam swab the sampler and the assistant will each need a pair of new gloves, a two-inch by two-inch disposable template or a disposable ruler, tape, a macrofoam swab, buffer solution, a screw-cap tube, 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. 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. While in the contaminated area, you should 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 places a two-inch by two-inch template over the area to be sampled, or the sampler can measure out an area no larger than four square inches. The assistant opens the swab package without touching the swab or its handle. The sampler removes the swab by grasping only the swab handle above the thumb stop. If the swab is not pre-moistened, the sampler moistens it by dipping the swab into a container of buffer solution. The assistant opens and holds the container of solution for the sampler. The sampler presses the swab against the inside of the container to remove excess solution. After the swab is dipped in the solution. Throw away the unused solution and container. Do not reuse the solution and container. The sampler will make three passes over the surface to be sampled 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. The sampler places the side of the swab 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 rotates the swab to a clean side, places the side of the swab 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 rotates the swab to a clean side, places the side of the swab on the surface, and covers the area with diagonal ‘S’-strokes. These strokes will be at a 45-degree angle to the first ones. After the area has been covered three times, the sampler places the swab into a screw-cap tube, so the sampler can break off the head of the swab by bending the handle at the score. The sampler should not touch the tube or insert the handle of the swab beyond the thumb stop. The assistant caps and labels the tube 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 tube with paraffin film to prevent leakage during shipment. The assistant places the sample into a re-sealable plastic bag, removes any excessive air, seals and labels the bag with the same information as on the tube. The assistant should check that the bag is watertight. 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.