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Physical and Chemical Removal Options for Porous/Permeable Materials Contaminated with a Persistent Chemical Warfare Agent VX
Citation:
Oudejans, L., D. See, C. Dodds, W. Hayes, A. Andrews, AND A. Ellington. Physical and Chemical Removal Options for Porous/Permeable Materials Contaminated with a Persistent Chemical Warfare Agent VX. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-20/047, 2020.
Impact/Purpose:
In the event of a chemical release incident involving chemical warfare agents (CWAs), porous building materials and permeable coatings may become contaminated with CWAs that absorb into the materials and coatings. The reversal of this absorption may not be possible and absorbed CWA may become inaccessible to surface decontaminants that cannot penetrate into those materials or coatings. The best course of remediation may involve physical removal of contaminated materials or coatings. Literature searches were performed to identify physical contamination removal technologies that generate minimal waste and avoid irreparable damage. Two technologies/approaches were selected for bench-scale laboratory studies followed by subsequent experimental evaluation of physical removal efficacy of VX. Results from these tests will are discussed in this report.
Description:
The results of this research will provide the EPA response community as well as other Federal, State, Tribal and Local agencies on tools to decontaminate porous materials in the indoor environment that are contaminated with CWAs. Report on bench-scale experimental evaluation of physical removal efficacy of chemical nerve agent VX from porous or permeable materials via grinding, cutting or (paint) stripping.