CBRN Protection
Systems
Development of a New Family
of CBRN Decontaminants
Hans-Joachim Töpfer
Introduction
Based on the expected CBRN threat at present and in the
future, it is of essential importance that the decontamination
of persons, material, clothing, equipment, etc. is carried out
as soon as possible in order to ensure the survival of the
affected personnel and to be able to continue work at a
minimized residual risk without wearing personal CBRN
protection equipment.
The objective of the investigations carried out was the
development of a complete family of highly effective rapidaction agents for the removal of radioactive contamination,
inactivation of relevant pathogenic micro-organisms and
detoxification of highly toxic chemical warfare agents while at
the same time ensuring a sufficient level of storage stability,
agent handling safety, good compatibility with the material to
be decontaminated, and a minimized impact on the environment.
The new decontaminants clearly represent the state of the art
in the area of CBRN decontamination.
Tests carried out with the new RN decontaminant prove its
distinct effect in the radioactive decontamination of different
radio-nuclides adhering to various types of painted and un­­
painted surfaces compared to other radioactive decontaminants used up to now.
The new B decontaminant system is based on a rapidaction micro-biocide active agent system without any gaps
in efficacy and can be used effectively also under winter
conditions. An essential advantage is that the disinfection of
surfaces and rooms can be carried out using a single active
agent system.
The non-aqueous C decontamination solution has a distinctly
high decontamination effect on all relevant chemical warfare
agents (including chemical warfare agents with thickeners),
which has been proven in many tests carried out in laboratories and in the field. The solution can be used under all
relevant climate conditions, including winter conditions,
within the NATO mission area.
CBRN Decontamination
For future missions of the armed forces it can be assumed
that radioactive, biological or chemical warfare agents will not
be used predominantly in masses, but undercover against
selected targets and on a low level. Apart from this, terrorist
attacks or nuclear accidents, disasters in the chemical industry, sabotage or the targeted release of highly toxic industrial
matters in the framework of military operations can cause
collateral damage which are totally comparable to those of
an attack involving NBC weapons, and the events in relation
to BSE, foot and mouth disease, SARS and bird flue are
only a vague hint on the possible effects following the use
of biological weapons.
Contamination prevention is always of top priority. But if
CBRN contamination of persons and material could not be
avoided this danger can only be eliminated by effective
de­­­con­tamination.
The kinds of radioactive, biological or chemical contamina­tion caused by warfare agents can partly vary fundamentally
with regard to their specific properties and characteristics.
Extremely small doses of these CBRN contaminants are
sufficient to trigger their damaging effects on the human
organism. Therefore, a basic demand placed on modern
decontamination agents and methods is that they should
reach the highest possible decontamination effect while at
the same time minimizing the resources needed.
At first sight, the application of decontamination agents and
methods which are supposed to be universally effective
against C, B and RN contaminants seems very interesting
and congenial from a logistics point of view. However, it does
not withstand critical scrutiny with regard to its underlying
responsibility for the health and survival of the concerned
persons.
taminants guarantee compliance with the pre-requisites for
efficient CBRN decontamination even under harsh winter
conditions.
This family of decontamination agents also meets the urgent
need for environmentally more compatible decontaminants,
which has been present for decades due to the enormously
increased environmental awareness. Moreover, environmental
compatibility is also an important pre-requisite for the use of
decontamination technologies and agents in peace-time in
the case of accidents involving highly toxic hazardous
materails, nuclear accidents, epidemics, etc.
NBC Weapons – CBRN Contamination –
CBRN Decontamination
Against this background, radioactive, biological or chemical
decontamination requires agents and methods which are
best suited to the respective purpose, and which consider
the relevant operational conditions, logistical aspects, environmental and material compatibility to a sufficient extent.
The RDS 2000, BDS 2000 and GDS 2000 decontaminants
are a complete family of CBRN decontamination agents available within the product range of Kärcher Futuretech GmbH.
These agents do not only meet the described requirements
to the best possible extent but can also be used effectively
and with minimal logistical effort at temperatures ranging from
-30°C to +49°C. Especially when used in connection with
the modern Kärcher decontamination systems, these decon-
Temperature range for the application
of RDS 2000, BDS 2000 and GDS 2000
New Family of highly effective
CBRN Decontaminants
RDS 2000 radioactive Decontaminant
The RDS 2000 radioactive decontamination agent has been
developed by the Bundeswehr Scientific Research Institute for
Protective Technologies and NBC Protection, and Kärcher in
the framework of a cooperation project. It is a concentrate
consisting of two separate components for the production of
a radioactive decontaminant to be used for the decontamination of surfaces contaminated with radioactive particles. It is
applied as foam using the known application devices. After
the respective period of time needed for the decontamination
agent to become active it is rinsed off together with the
­radioactive contaminants by means of a high-pressure water
jet and preferably collected in appropriate collection basins
for further disposal.
The high efficiency of RDS 2000 in radioactive decontamination is a result of the specific combination of an aqueous sur­
factant solution system with appropriate complexing agents,
oxidants or other auxiliary substances. With regard to envi­
ron­mental compatibility, RDS 2000 meets the requirements
of water pollution class 1 (low hazard for water). It is sufficiently stable during storage and ensures an optimal coaction
of conventional cleaning, decontamination effect and troop-­
friendly handling.
In the case of surfaces contaminated with radioactive particles, the decontamination process can be divided into two
phases, i.e. the separation of the particles from the surface
(first phase) and their transport away from the surface to be
decontaminated (second phase). The first phase especially is
largely determined by the kind of nuclear decontamination
agents (radioactive decontamination agent). However, decon­
tamination can only be considered successful if the second
decontamination phase can guarantee the reliable removal,
e.g. with the help of a high-pressure water jet, of the radio­
active particles separated from the surface.
Against this background it becomes
clear that the efficiency of decontamination does not only depend on the
kind of decontamination agent but
also on the best possible assessment
of all relevant factors influencing the
decontamination process. Therefore,
the decontamination process should
always be regarded as a whole.
Compared to other radioactive
decontaminants used up to now,
RDS 2000 shows a considerably
higher level of efficiency.
RDS 2000 radioactive decontaminant
Source: WISABC-Schutz
Munster/Germany
The conceived B decontaminant system bases on a special
thermally stable peracetic acid and covers the following
application areas:
Residual radioactivity after decon with different decon agents
BDS 2000 biological decontamination
­system
The requirements on B decontamination are partially in con­­
trast to the provisions determined in the relevant legal regulations each of which concerns special application areas in the
fields of human and veterinary medicine, food hygiene, etc.
None of the official disinfectant lists (DGHM, DVG or RKI)
comprehensively covers the aspects and influential factors
relevant for B decontamination. This is obviously one of the
reasons for the unavailability of approved B decontamination
agents and methods.
Most of the agents foreseen for B decontamination within
the NATO armed forces until now also present problems,
largely with regard to their environmental compatibility and do
not meet the requirements of application technology. In addition, they usually only cover part of the relevant pathogens.
Peracetic acid (PAA) is the only active agent which does not
show any gap against any kind of microbial pathogens. Even
chlorine and chlorine separators, iodine, formaldehyde, formaldehyde separators and glutaraldehyde show weaknesses
against yeasts, mould fungi and partially against non-enveloped viruses. In addition, almost all active agents may de­­
velop resistancies against microbial pathogens. Resistances
have never been observed for PAA.
(1)
Application of the active peracetic acid component in combination with a surfactant/buffer mixture as aqueous foam using high-pressure decontamination modules for the decontamination of biologically contaminated sur­faces
(2) Application of the active peracetic acid component using a thermal aerosol generator (hot fogger) for the B decon-
tamination of compartment air (interior rooms).
The active agent component is the same for both application
areas and ensures easy handling. The logistical advantage is
amongst others, that only one supply article is needed as an
active agent component.
The studies carried out in independent testing institutions
verify the distinct biological decon effect of the BDS 2000
system as well as against the highly pathogenic avian influenza A viruses. Influenza A virus (H7N1) was destroyed at
very low contration of the BDS 2000 decontaminant and
within very short times, not only in suspension, but also on
absorbent, porous, protein loaded surfaces like wood germ
carrier and at low temperatures. For the disinfection of
influenza viruses unter field conditions in cold weather it is
recommended an exposure time of 15 minutes (at 0°C) or
30 minutes (at -5°C and -30°C).
B decontamination of surfaces and spaces using BDS 2000
Remark:
weak efficiency
good efficiency, decreasing
Reaction speed:
vh
h
l
vl
very high
high
low
very low
Source: According to:
Wallhäuser, K. H.; Sterilisation, Desinfektion,
Konservierung, 5th edition, Thieme Verlag
Stuttgart, New York,1995
Spectrum of efficiency of various disinfection agents
GDS 2000 chemical decontaminant
GDS 2000 is a non-aqueous decontamination agent based
on alkoxides. It is intended for the quick and effective detoxi­fication of all known chemical warfare agents (including thickened chemical warfare agents) on surfaces of military and
defence material (particularly armoured or non-armoured
vehicles as well as other military equipment) within the tem­­
perature range of approx. -30°C to + 49°C, e. g. including
under harsh winter conditions.
Compared to other decontaminants (aqueous decontami­
nation solutions, decontamination emulsions or foams)
GDS 2000 is readily available so that technical systems for
the production under field conditions are not required, and
only application units are needed. This reduces the failure
susceptibility of the respective decontamination systems
while the reliable availability is considerably increased.
The comparatively high reactivity of GDS 2000, even at low
temperatures, minimises the required reaction time. This
leads to a drastic reduction of the necessary decontamination times and enables increased throughput of the vehicles,
equipment, etc., to be decontaminated.
In the original jerrycans
and in accordance with
the stipulated storage conditions (cool and dry, not
in direct sunlight),
GDS 2000 can be stored
for more than 10 years.
Decon Efficiency of GDS 2000 against CWA
The studies carried out in independent testing institutions
verify the distinct detoxification effect of GDS 2000 against all
relevant chemical warfare agents with and without thickeners.
With the required amount of decontamination agent
(approx. 0.1 to 0.2 l/m2 ) for a complete decontamination
and a reaction time of approx. 5 to 10 minutes on the
surface to be decontaminated, combat tanks and other
armoured vehicles can be fully detoxified using 10 to 20 litres
of GDS 2000.
GDS 2000 meets the requirements for the OECD 28-day
Ready Biodegradability Tests and has a biodegradation
of 88 % within 28 days. The ecotoxicity is approx. 20 times
lower than comparable C decontaminants at the basis of
hypochlorites.
In the meantime GDS 2000 is replacing the old DS2 decon
solution in different armed forces.
Standard packaging
of the GDS 2000
Summary
The new family of CBRN decontaminants presented are
highly effective agents available for carrying out the rapid and
effective radioactive, biological and chemical decontamination
in the area of CBRN defence. Beside the high decontamination effect, they stand out due to a good material compatibility and biological degradability.
technological and conceptual requirements and which can
be carried out by well-trained decontamination personnel
using the appropriate decontamination devices. Uncritical
assessment of the available decontamination resources,
unadmissible simplifications and the assumption of unavail­
able skills may have fatal consequences in case of need.
CBRN Protection
Systems
Mobile Catering
Systems
CBRN Protective
Clothing
Services
Water Supply
Systems
Field Camp
Systems
Kärcher
Futuretech GmbH
Alfred-Schefenacker-Str. 1
71409 Schwaikheim, Germany
Tel. +49-71 95-14 0
Fax +49-71 95-14 27 80
www.kaercher-futuretech.com
[email protected]
07.11 Po/Po Printed in Germany
The rapid and effective carrying out of decontamination
under CBRN conditions in order to protect the health of the
affect­­ed personnel and to ensure their survival requires a
well-balanced system of highly effective decontamination
agents and methods whose components are adapted to the