Disposal of Residues from Building DecontaminationActivities

摘要

After a building has gone through decontamination activities from a chemical attack therewill be a significant amount of building decontamination residue that will need to undergodisposal. This material could include porous material such as contaminated carpet, fabric,ceiling tiles, and furniture. In addition, if anti-terrorist countermeasures are installed into thebuilding’s heating ventilation and air conditioning system, there may be additional contaminatedmaterials such as carbon beds and high-efficiency particulate air filters. It is likely that much ofthis material will be disposed of in high temperature thermal incineration facilities, includingmedical or pathological waste incinerators, municipal waste combustors, or hazardous wastecombustors. Selection of appropriate disposal facilities requires fundamental knowledge of thebehavior of the matrix-bound contaminants in various thermal environments. Very little isknown about the incineration of building materials that have been in contact with chemicalagents. It is essential that data be obtained to ensure that the contaminants are desorbed from thematerial and destroyed in the incinerator, thus preventing the release in the flue gas or residuefrom the incineration process.This project consists of a fundamental study to investigate the desorption of simulatedchemical warfare agents chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES) and dimethyl methyl phosphonate(DMMP) from building materials. The physical and chemical surface properties of the buildingmaterials have been obtained, as well as the adsorption and desorption isotherms so thatmodeling can be performed to assess various combinations of building materials andcontaminants in different incinerator or thermal treatment system designs and operations. Theresults from these studies can be used to evaluate incineration technologies for appropriatenessfor disposal of contaminated building cleanup waste materials. In addition, the results from thesestudies will be used to develop computer simulations to predict the behavior of contaminatedresidue as it is processed through incinerators.