Biohazard and Pathogen Disinfection in Racine, WI

Racine is a city on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River, about 22 miles south of Milwaukee and 60 miles north of Chicago, and it serves as the county seat of Racine County.

Racine was founded in 1834 by Captain Gilbert Knapp, who named his settlement Port Gilbert; the community took the name Racine — from the French word for 'root' — and incorporated as a village in 1841 and as a city on August 8, 1848.

Racine had a population of 77,816 at the 2020 census, making it the fifth-most populous city in Wisconsin, and the census counted 31,133 households in the city.

Racine's nicknames include 'The Belle City of the Lakes,' 'Invention City,' and 'The Kringle Capital of America.'

Racine is the American home of the kringle, the oval Danish pastry brought by Danish immigrants who made Racine the most Danish city in America; the kringle was named Wisconsin's official state pastry in 2013, and bakeries such as O&H Danish Bakery, founded in 1949, still define the city's food identity.

Malted milk was invented in Racine in 1887 by English immigrant William Horlick, and the Horlick company's Racine factory is also where malted milk balls were first developed.

The garbage disposal was invented in Racine in 1927 by architect John Hammes, who founded the InSinkErator company, which still produces millions of garbage disposers in Racine every year.

Racine is the headquarters of S.C. Johnson & Son, whose Johnson Wax Headquarters and Research Tower were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright beginning in 1936; Wright also designed the Wingspread conference center and several homes in the city.

Racine has been a farm-equipment city since the days of J.I. Case, and Case IH Magnum and New Holland T8 tractors are still built at the CNH Industrial plant in Racine, which offers public tours.

Racine High School, which opened in 1852, was the first public high school in Wisconsin, and Racine College, an Episcopal college, was founded the same year.