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Records with

  • Keyword = ’homeland security’ AND 'indoor outdoor decontamination' AND radiological NOT (presentation OR poster).
Records 1 to 25 of 135

2023
General filtration bed design for water contaminated with radioactive cesium
(SUMMARY) [Published : Feb 21, 2023]
The timely decontamination of high-density urban areas is critical in the face of a terror event involving radioactive cesium (Cs), which has a 30- year half-life with an energetic 662 keV gamma ray released during decay. This technical brief is intended for local, state and fede...
Material Compatibility Studies for Chemical Warfare Agent Decontamination Solutions
(PUBLISHED REPORT) [Published : Aug 01, 2023]
EPA’s Homeland Security Research Program conducts decontamination efficacy studies that identify technologies that can be used to clean surfaces, materials, or objects contaminated with chemical, biological, or radiological agents. This project consisted of an assessment of the m...
Pressure Washing Surfaces Contaminated with Fixed or Loose Radioactive Material: Best Practices for Urban Surfaces
(SUMMARY) [Published : Feb 23, 2023]
This brief provides operating information based on reviewed field experience [1] and laboratory experiments [2-5]. While it discusses general safety, this technical brief does not discuss the safe operation of pressurized sprayer equipment to avoid physical hazards which are typi...
Radiological Recovery Logistics Tool (RRLT)
(DATA/SOFTWARE) [Published : Feb 01, 2023]
The RRLT database includes detailed information on the equipment’s everyday function, its effectiveness on different surfaces and forms of radioactive contaminants, the scale for which the equipment may be applied, the skill required of the operator, utility requirements, legal a...
2022
Limiting Wind-Induced Resuspension of Radioactively Contaminated Particles to Enhance First Responder, Early Phase Worker and Public Safety—Part 1
(JOURNAL) [Published : Feb 26, 2022]
An accidental radiological release or the operation of a radiological dispersal device (RDD) may lead to the contamination of a large area. Such scenarios may lead to health and safety risks associated with the resuspension of contaminated particles due to aeolian (wind-induced) ...
Logistics Simulation of a Remediation Effort for a Hypothetical Radiological Contamination Scenario
(JOURNAL) [Published : Dec 01, 2022]
To mitigate the effects following a large-scale nuclear or radiological material release in an urban environment and to expedite recovery, the Integrated Wash-Aid Treatment Emergency Reuse System (IWATERS) was developed. IWATERS consists of three operations: washing contaminated ...
Modeling radionuclide transport in urban overland flow: A case study
(JOURNAL) [Published : Jan 26, 2022]
This paper presents the process used to develop an overland flow model of radionuclide transport following an aerosol deposition from a hypothetical radiological dispersal device explosion. The process included the integration of digital elevation, building, and land cover inform...
Part 2: Stabilization/Containment of Radiological Particle Contamination to Enhance First Responder, Early Phase Worker, and Public Safety
(JOURNAL) [Published : Apr 11, 2022]
During the immediate, emergency phase of a response to a radiological dispersal device (RDD), an improvised nuclear device (IND), or accidental radiological release, emergency responders may be exposed to radioactivity due to inhalation and direct contact. It is important to mini...
2021
Experiments Supporting the Design and Operation of Ad Hoc Sand/Clay Beds to Filter Contaminated Waters during Recovery – 21206
(PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS) [Published : Mar 12, 2021]
In this work, we measured the flow rate of sand/clay columns as a function of saturation time, composition, and the presence of filter material at the bottom of the column.
External Dose to Recovery Teams Following a Wide-Area Nuclear or Radiological Release Event
(JOURNAL) [Published : Jun 01, 2021]
The primary objective of this study was to quantify the dose incurred to workers performing a remediation recovery effort for roadways and buildings following a wide-area release event.
Progress on a Radiological Recovery Logistics Tool for Expedited Recovery Following a Wide Area Release – 21175
(PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS) [Published : Mar 12, 2021]
Conference Proceedings; The purpose of the RRLT is to increase the resilience of urban communities by expediting recovery operations .
Tools Used for Visualizing Sampling and Analysis Data During Response to a Contamination Incident
(PUBLISHED REPORT) [Published : Nov 25, 2021]
In the event of a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) wide-area incident, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for clearance, waste disposal processes, and data collection and quality checks to advise decision-making. This research effor...
2020
Dispersion Modeling Systems Relevant to Homeland Security Preparedness and Response
(PUBLISHED REPORT) [Published : Oct 21, 2020]
Atmospheric dispersion modeling is one tool that can be used for effective emergency preparation or response from hazardous chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNe) releases, especially in urban areas where population densities are high and wind flow bec...
Radiological Recovery Logistics Tool – 20161
(PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS) [Published : Mar 12, 2020]
The study reported in this paper has both factored fundamental concepts and connections out of this identification process and created a Knowledge Base detailing support goals, response scenarios, and efficacy information on dozens of equipment types. In short, RRLT will dynamica...
The Effects of Contaminant Aging on Decontamination Efficacy for Rapid Remediation of Concrete Surfaces – 20412
(PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS) [Published : Mar 12, 2020]
In this work, we evaluated the decontamination efficacy of two decontamination methods on concrete samples contaminated with soluble cesium-137 (Cs-137) and silica particles with 0.5-μm and 2-μm diameters.
2019
2018 EPA International Decontamination Research and Development Conference
(SUMMARY) [Published : May 28, 2019]
On May 8-10, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Office of Research and Development’s National Homeland Security Research Center (ORD/NHSRC) hosted the 10th U.S. EPA International Decontamination Research and Development Conference at the EPA facilities in Re...
A case study of cesium sorption onto concrete materials and evaluation of wash agents: Implications for wide area recovery
(JOURNAL) [Published : Jun 01, 2019]
The sorption and desorption properties of radionuclides onto common building materials such as concrete are critical factors in the improvement of techniques for mitigating a release of nuclear or radiological material to the urban environment. A potential option for the early p...
Compressing the Recovery Timeline for an Urban Contamination Event -19539
(PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS) [Published : Mar 07, 2019]
The study was devised to connect emergency management and homeland security offices at the city, state, and federal agencies and discuss the availability and potential response capabilities of equipment reserves. This project focused on connecting with relevant emergency manageme...
Evaluation of Low-Tech Outdoor Decontamination Methods Following Wide Area Radiological/Nuclear Incidents
(PUBLISHED REPORT) [Published : Sep 02, 2019]
This technology evaluation report included use of low-tech decontamination methods on surfaces common to outdoor residential environments and included evaluating the decontamination efficacy, method constraints, safety concerns, feasibility, waste generation, potential exposure, ...
High Pressure Decontamination of Building Materials During Radiological Incident Recovery
(JOURNAL) [Published : Nov 01, 2019]
High pressure decontamination of certain surface building materials is concluded to be a promising rapid, readily available response technique, with the data from this study informing its practical implementation. Removal efficacy of radionuclides from concrete are high when perf...
Preliminary Logistics Modeling of the Integrated Wash Aid Treatment Emergency Reuse System
(PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS) [Published : Mar 07, 2019]
The modeling results showed the availability of vermiculite clay (based on data supplied by its commercial vendors/distributors) as the limiting factor for deploying treatment bed teams, and consequentially the recycling rate of wash water and subsequent completion of decontamina...
Radiological Emergency: Exposure Assessment of Livestock Carcass Management
(PUBLISHED REPORT) [Published : Jun 06, 2019]
The potential exposures and exposure pathways were compared for various options to support decision-making in the event of a radiological emergency to provide an in-depth evaluation based on understanding of ionizing radiation and radiation exposure, conceptual models of potentia...
2018
Cesium Emissions from Laboratory Fires
(JOURNAL) [Published : Jun 28, 2018]
This journal article studied the partitioning of Cs between airborne particulate and residual ash from burning Cs-contaminated vegetation as a function of particle size distribution (PSD), and to correlate Cs emissions with carbon-containing compounds and combustion efficiency.
Design of Ad Hoc Filtration Beds for Treating Contaminated Waste Waters Final
(PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS) [Published : Mar 27, 2018]
Sensitivity analyses on the system parameters revealed simple relationships between the bed design and the expected breakthrough of cesium, allowing us to generate a concise set of look-up tables to aid the early responders.
Effects of Aging and Decontamination Pressure on the Penetration of Radionuclides into Concrete
(PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS) [Published : Mar 22, 2018]
This study aims to understand the effect of the rapid decontamination methods of high pressure washing and washing with salt additives on the penetration of radionuclides into concrete. To this end, we first identified how penetration profiles of Cs-137, Sr-85, and Eu-152 evolve ...