Contaminated Human Remains: Transportable Decontamination - 1. Technical Readiness Level Estimate. 2. Vaccinia Virus Ionizing Radiation Inactivation in a Human Phantom. 3. Current State of Technology Relevant to Development of a Transportable System for Treatment of Contaminated Human Remains
Abstract
The inability to safely return biologically contaminated remains to the families of service members has been a persistent problem. Three interrelated reports include: 1)A state of the art review for using ionizing radiation to decontaminate human remains and developing a field transportable system. 2)A detailed report of dose measurements and proof of principle experiments using a human phantom. 3)A discussion of the technical readiness level (TRL). Findings in brief: Ionizing radiation is used extensively for sterilization and sanitization due to its high penetration. Information is available for design of exposure conditions and equipment. There is extensive knowledge of the radiation sensitivity of biological threat agents of concern. The experiments successfully demonstrated virus radiation inactivation; previous work showed bacteria spore inactivation. Body armor and standard containment used for handling remains have very little effect on radiation doses delivered to deep tissues. The findings support that ionizing radiation based decontamination of human remains could provide an effective means of treatment with high confidence that no viable disease causing organisms survive and minimize risks to mortuary personnel and the environment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 30, 2011
- Accession Number
- AD1029200
Entities
People
- Robert J Lowy
Organizations
- Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute