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Transport of Persistent Chemical Warfare Agents HD and VX into Porous Materials and Permeable Layers: Practical data for remediation of contaminated building materials
Citation:
Oudejans, L. Transport of Persistent Chemical Warfare Agents HD and VX into Porous Materials and Permeable Layers: Practical data for remediation of contaminated building materials. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/S-21/155, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
A release of VX or sulfur mustard (HD), two persistent chemical warfare agents, will create an acute and significant exposure risk to the public as well as remediation contractors who would be tasked to cleanup a contaminated site. Remediation operations will benefit from improved knowledge on the transport of these agents into porous and/or permeable building materials. This technical brief provides a summary of multiple research projects that studied the transport of these chemicals into paints, sealants, and other porous materials. The results of this research will inform the EPA response community and other Federal, State, Tribal and Local agencies on the expected partitioning of VX and HD into permeable materials and its impact on sampling, decontamination, and waste management which are part of the remediation strategy to cleanup VX or HD contaminated sites.
Description:
This technical brief compiles data from several recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) bench-scale studies which assessed the fate and transport of these two chemicals into porous and/or permeable materials. This summary provides decision¿makers with practical information on the expected degree of permeation/absorption of HD and VX into several types of materials following a chemical incident, which will inform the remediation strategy for the reopening of contaminated buildings or infrastructure.