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Report for Assessment of Nondestructive Decontamination Methodologies for Contaminated Roofing Material Surfaces
Citation:
Hall, K., R. James, X. Xia, AND Z. Willenberg. Report for Assessment of Nondestructive Decontamination Methodologies for Contaminated Roofing Material Surfaces. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-22/222, 2022.
Impact/Purpose:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the responsibility for protecting human health and the environment from accidental and intentional releases of radiological materials. The National Response Framework (NRF) (Nuclear/Radiological Annex) designates EPA as a supporting agency for the long-term recovery phase of a response. EPA has previously conducted in-house and extramural experimental work to evaluate the efficacy and applicability of several radiological decontamination technologies for deployment in response to a wide-area event, such as a Radiological Dispersal Device scenario. In previous research efforts, EPA has developed and validated methods for deposition of different radionuclides onto urban materials to evaluate different decontamination technologies. In this study, the decontamination efficacy of Stripcoat TLC Free (Stripcoat), DeconGel 1108 (DeconGel 1108), Argonne SuperGel (ASG), Rad-Release II (RRII) and three additional decontamination technologies including Quick Decon Mass Effect Solution (QDS), DeconGel 1128 (DeconGel 1128), and Allen Vanguard Universal Decontamination (UDF) was investigated on four roofing materials: asphalt shingle, membrane roofing, wood shingle and clay tile. Roofing material coupons were contaminated with a liquid aerosol of Cs-137. The radiological activity of the contaminated coupons was measured before and after the decontamination process for each decontamination technology. The decontamination efficacy was determined by calculating a percent removal for each decontamination technology based on the measured pre- and post-decontamination radiological activity. Important deployment and operational factors were also documented and reported. This report describes the detailed evaluation process and quantitative results during the evaluations. The qualitative operational information related to the decontamination process such as technology availability, cost, preparation time, shelf life, volume used, application and removal process time, skilled labor and utilities requirement, waste disposal and other factors related to the decontamination process are also provided. This report is designed to be used by decision makers who will be in charge of cleanup of urban areas after a radiological incident.
Description:
This report summarizes results of research conducted to determine the decontamination efficacy of Stripcoat TLC Free (Stripcoat), DeconGel 1108 (DeconGel 1108), Argonne SuperGel (ASG), Rad-Release II (RRII), Quick Decon Mass Effect Solution (QDS), DeconGel 1128 (DeconGel 1128), and Allen Vanguard Universal Decontamination (UDF) on four roofing materials: asphalt shingles, membrane roofing, wood shingles and clay tiles. In addition to individual coupons, a scaled- up study was performed where asphalt shingles, wood shingles, and clay tiles were overlapped into a larger coupon to mimic how they would be used in a community. A third study was performed involving painting membrane roofing with white paint replicating what is currently being done on city buildings roofs. In addition to decontamination efficacy, important deployment and operational factors were also documented and included in this report.