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Material Compatibility Studies for Chemical Warfare Agent Decontamination Solutions
Citation:
Oudejans, L., B. Wyrzykowska-Ceradini, J. Sawyer, A. Touati, T. Chamberlain, AND E. Morris. Material Compatibility Studies for Chemical Warfare Agent Decontamination Solutions. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-23/160, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
The material compatibility can be an important parameter in the selection of a decontaminant when decontaminating sensitive equipment such as electronics or other high-valued items. Some decontamination technologies may cause corrosion, loss of functionality of the item, leave a residue on the surface, and/or cause other damage to materials and/or equipment. This report provides information on the material compatibility of three decontamination solutions that have shown high efficacy in degrading chemical warfare agents on surfaces.
Description:
EPA’s Homeland Security Research Program conducts decontamination efficacy studies that identify technologies that can be used to clean surfaces, materials, or objects contaminated with chemical, biological, or radiological agents. This project consisted of an assessment of the material compatibility of three decontamination solutions which were expected to be efficacious for degradation of chemical warfare agents, including the recently added “Novichoks”. Three decontamination solutions were selected based on high material compatibility. This project aimed to provide the EPA and other responding agencies with information on the material compatibility of specialized oxidizing products that could be used to decontaminate sensitive electronic equipment (SEE)-related materials following a chemical threat release. Material compatibility studies for selected SEE surrogate materials (metals copper, aluminum, and stainless steel; plastics ABS, acrylic, polycarbonate, high-density polyethylene, and high-impact polystyrene; and elastomers butyl and silicone rubber) and USB drives were performed through laboratory-scale assessments of test material coupons exposed to three liquid oxidizers (Easy DECON DF200, Decon PLUS, and Dahlgren Decon) compared to non-exposed controls. Following the exposure of a SEE material to a decontaminant and a water rinse for a subset of test coupons, a visual inspection of all materials was performed at four-time intervals over a period of three months. In addition to visual examinations, critical characteristics like tensile properties, moisture absorption and corrosion potential were measured using applicable standard (ASTM) methods. Moisture absorption and corrosion potential assessments were performed one week from the exposure. In addition, specialized material compatibility assessments of tensile strength of selected plastic and elastomer materials were performed using ASTM methods approximately five months after exposure. The functionality of USB flash drives was assessed using qualitative visual assessment and quantitative software-based diagnostic tests. Similar to material compatibility studies, the functional evaluations were performed comparatively, using equipment subjected to the liquid-based oxidizing decontaminants compared to a subset of USB devices sprayed with water only and a subset of non-treated controls exposed to neither water nor decontamination spray.