Decontamination of Indoor Porous and Permeable Surfaces Contaminated with Persistent Chemical Warfare Agents VX and sulfur mustard, HD
Citation:
Oudejans, L. Decontamination of Indoor Porous and Permeable Surfaces Contaminated with Persistent Chemical Warfare Agents VX and sulfur mustard, HD. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/S-23/198, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
An intentional and nefarious attack or unintentional release of a chemical warfare agent (CWA) is expected to trigger a significant effort to clean up a contaminated area. Such effort becomes more complex when considering the permeability of common indoor building materials to some CWAs. This technical brief serves as a summary that compiles data from recent EPA HSRP bench-scale studies that assessed decontamination efficacies for porous and permeable materials contaminated with VX and HD. The purpose of this summary is to provide decision?makers with practical information on potential percent of remaining residuals after decontamination, efforts to improve efficacy, and identification of material types that are impractical, if not impossible, to clean to the intended clearance level. This practical information will inform the remediation strategy for the decontamination of contaminated interior areas.
Description:
An intentional and nefarious attack or unintentional release of a chemical warfare agent (CWA) is expected to trigger a significant effort to clean up a contaminated area. Such effort becomes more complex when considering the permeability of common indoor building materials to some CWAs. While surface decontamination options exist for nonporous or nonpermeable materials that are contaminated with some of the more persistent CWAs, such as VX, HD, and FGAs, information about applying these options to porous or permeable materials is limited. This technical brief serves as a summary that compiles data from recent EPA HSRP bench-scale studies that assessed decontamination efficacies for porous and permeable materials contaminated with VX and HD. The purpose of this summary is to provide decision?makers with practical information on potential percent of remaining residuals after decontamination, efforts to improve efficacy, and identification of material types that are impractical, if not impossible, to clean to the intended clearance level. This practical information will inform the remediation strategy for the decontamination of contaminated interior areas.