Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats-Decontamination technologies and recent patents: A review

Abstract

With the increase in the intensity of threats perception and possibility of mass casualties in case of a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) emergency, there is a need to develop novel and effective systems for decontamination. The natural calamity in Japan leading to world's most critical nuclear emergency exposed lack of decontamination formulation and technologies globally. There is a need to develop novel and effective systems for decontamination as the current technologies are expensive and cannot be used by victim themselves. Decontamination formulations that can be used by victims themselves are need of time. The review gives a brief introduction about the various CBRN agents and a concise discussion about the decontamination technologies available globally. The article also provides a review of the existing patents on the methods, equipment/devices used in CBRN decontamination.

Rheological and radioactive decontamination properties of ethyl cellulose sols in green solvents at a temperature below 0 °C

“…At present, there are many surface decontamination technologies, including chemical or physical methods, supercritical uid methods, electrochemical methods, laser methods, stripping lm methods and foam methods. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Among these methods, the stripping lm method is a promising method for decontaminating radioactive pollutants due to its high decontamination rate and less secondary pollution. 15,16 Stripping lm decontaminating technologies at room temperature have already been extensively reported and discussed.…”

Colloidal gel as an efficient process to treat Chemical, Biological, Radiological (CBR) and prion contaminated solid surfaces

“…Furthermore, in post accidental situation, the contamination can be easily disseminated inside and outside the civilian infrastructure [6,7], making the development of specific, effective decontamination products and processes crucial. Currently available CBRN decontamination technologies include physical, chemical and biological processes [4,8,9]. Chemical decontamination products often contain an oxidant such as peroxides or hypochlorite ions [8][9][10], which are effective against biological and chemical contaminations [11,12], with hypochlorite also being particularly effective against a large variety of spores and microorganisms [1,[13][14][15].…”

“…Currently available CBRN decontamination technologies include physical, chemical and biological processes [4,8,9]. Chemical decontamination products often contain an oxidant such as peroxides or hypochlorite ions [8][9][10], which are effective against biological and chemical contaminations [11,12], with hypochlorite also being particularly effective against a large variety of spores and microorganisms [1,[13][14][15]. Against chemical agents, while a basic medium effectively hydrolyzes (and thus neutralizes) sulfur mustard and nerve agents such as soman [11,16,17], an oxidant is required to neutralize other nerve agents such as VX.…”