The release of chemical and biological agents on a large-scale urban environment would be devastating. The amount of waste generated during such an event would be comparable to a tornado ripping through a town. Building materials, furniture, office materials, building insulation and wood structures could become contaminated to a level that they could not be decontaminated without their destruction. Tons of waste would be generated during the cleanup and remediation of even the smallest event. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the lead federal agency for the remediation of public areas contaminated with chemical and biological threat agents. 

 

Transportation and disposal of waste generated in a chemical or biological event is known to be a potential cost driver for the remediation process. TDA proposes to develop an encapsulation method that will seal in chemical and biological agent contamination on solid wastes that are designated for removal from the site. This barrier will benefit the mitigation effort in three ways:  first, it will improve the safety of personnel by protecting them from both vapor/aerosol and contact hazards; second, it can lower the transportation costs because the contaminants are sealed with impermeable polymer matrix; and third, it can lower the cost of ultimate disposal in a landfill or by incineration or gasification. In this Phase I project, TDA will demonstrate the feasibility of an encapsulation approach to allow safe transport and disposal of these materials.

 

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