Effectiveness of Vaporous Hydrogen Peroxide for the Decontamination of Representative Military Materials

摘要

The intentional release of biological agents has brought to the forefront the necessity of developing effective environmentally benign methods of decontamination for both the war fighter and the civilian population. While many chemical decontamination methods, including aqueous hydrogen peroxide, have been used or are under development for direct application, few vaporous methods are being evaluated for decontamination efficacy (McDonnell, G. et al., 2002). Vaporous methods include, but are not limited to, formaldehyde, ethylene oxide and vaporous hydrogen peroxide VHP (trade name). While these gases are effective, the former two are toxic, carcinogenic and potentially explosive whereas the VHP process requires no neutralization prior to environmental release due to its rapid decomposition into two environmentally benign products: oxygen and water vapor. The VHP process therefore, is a viable alternative decontamination technology. As such, the Department of Defense (DOD) is interested in acquiring/developing a decontamination strategy to be used for militarily relevant surfaces(Heckert, R. et al., 1997).