KODEK decontamination effects from agents

This report summarises the activities of the project KODEK for the period 2014-15. The main goal of the project was to set up an experimental platform containing various analytical tools to improve the capability to deduce if decontaminated material is clean, and to study the interactions between chemical substances and protection materials. This would lead to improved capacity to evaluate decontamination effects and decontamination methods. Protection materials have been contaminated and decontaminated with chemical substances, including chemical warfare agents, and analysed with different techniques belonging to two categories. The first one is based on traditional analysis techniques, including sampling and subsequent mass spectrometry (MS) analysis in order to identify chemicals. Improvements have here been achieved and the methodology error margin has been investigated together with the FFI in Norway within the cooperation agreement Nordic Clean. In the second category, other spectroscopic techniques have been evaluated for rapid analysis of contaminated materials with the potential to be further developed to be used in field. Unlike MS, these techniques are more qualitative in their analysis, meaning they give only an indication of the presence of C-agents and not the real amount. So far, all developing work has been performed in laboratory scale, but for the next period the technique laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is planned to be tested in more field-like conditions for rapid evaluation of decontamination results. Besides, this experimental platform is intended to be used in the field of BWA decontamination for the period 2016-18. Another ongoing activity has been a kind of characterisation work. Spreading on and absorption of varying chemical substances (liquids) into different materials have been documented. This will result in a complete picture of variations among different classes of substances, which is highly relevant when extrapolating results obtained with simulants to the case of live agents. In this investigation, multivariate data analysis has been used on different datasets: IR spectra, spreading data, remaining amount after decontamination, and physical and chemical properties of the chemicals. In KODEK, we are also taking active part as PFP country in NATO subgroups ("Hazard Management Panel" and HMF-233 2013), where for instance decontamination of sensitive equipment has been discussed. We have in the project presented results obtained from Nordic Clean cooperation, which was ended during 2015. A new technical agreement between Sweden (FOI) and Norway (FFI), Nordic Clean II, has been signed. The main objective is to build up a common methodology to analyse C contaminated protection materials.