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Evaluation of Malathion, DIMP, and Strawberry Furanone as CWA Simulants for Consideration in Field-Level Interior Building Remediation Exercises
Citation:
Oudejans, L., B. Wyrzykowska-Ceradini, E. Morris, S. Jackson, A. Touati, J. Sawyer, A. Mikelonis, AND S. Serre. Evaluation of Malathion, DIMP, and Strawberry Furanone as CWA Simulants for Consideration in Field-Level Interior Building Remediation Exercises. ACS Chemical Health & Safety. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 30(5):270-278, (2023). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chas.3c00029
Impact/Purpose:
Chemical warfare agents (CWA) remain a threat to the United States and abroad. For full-scale exercises that are intended to enhance the ability to respond, proper CWA simulants are required. While simulant selection publications exist, the identified simulant parameters do not have a practical linkage to their operational use. This research addresses the persistence, ability to sample and analyze, and degradability of select simulants against two common decontamination technologies leading to identification of a suitable CWA simulant for a full-scale exercise. The results of this research will inform the EPA response community as well as other Federal, State, Tribal and Local agencies on the ability to use specific chemicals as simulants in planned full-scale exercises to train on how to properly sample, decontaminate, and clear for re-occupancy-built environments contaminated with a CWA.
Description:
Field-level exercises with the purpose to assess remediation following the deliberate release of a highly toxic chemical in an indoor environment can be conducted using low(er) toxicity simulants if they are closely linked to the behavior of the toxic chemical itself. Experimental research was conducted, leading to this journal publication, to assess chemical simulant parameters like persistence on surfaces, ability to sample for, and capability to degrade during the decontamination phase such that the level of success of a field-level exercise can be quantified.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Evaluation of Malathion, DIMP, and Strawberry Furanone as CWA Simulants for Consideration in Field-Level Interior Building Remediation Exercises