Composition of CBRN Decontamination Effluent and Development of Surrogate Mixtures for Testing Effluent Treatment Technologies

Abstract

Decontamination efforts after a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) event require large quantities of water, and produce correspondingly large volumes of highly hazardous waste. This water use and production can be problematic in terms of logistics, safety and liability during and after a domestic or military event. The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center is developing a deployable effluent treatment system that could be used to treat the waste from decontamination operations for responsible discharge or potential reuse in decontamination activities. In order to develop such a system, it is important to understand and characterize the water that will be treated. In the fortunate absence of CBRN events to collect samples for analysis, the best alternative is to estimate the composition and concentration of components likely to be found in decontamination after such an event. This report summarizes our effort to provide that analysis, including the contribution of the CBRN agents, decontaminating agents, and additional materials produced as a result of washing (e.g., oil, dirt, hair, etc.).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2016
Accession Number
AD1014928

Entities

People

  • Imee Smith
  • Jonathon A. Brame
  • Lawrence Procell
  • Victor Frank Medina

Organizations

  • Engineer Research and Development Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Counter WMD

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemical Warfare
  • Chemical Warfare Agents
  • Chemical Weapons
  • Chemistry
  • Cyanides
  • Environmental Protection
  • Medical Personnel
  • Phosgene
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Combustion science or combustion engineering.
  • Critical Infrastructure Protection in CBRN and WMD Threats.
  • Economics