NCJ Number
192761
Date Published
1999
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article contains information on a foam that neutralizes chemical and biological agents.
Abstract
Researchers at the Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M., created a foam that neutralizes both chemical and biological agents in minutes. In laboratory tests the foam destroyed simulants of VX, mustard, and soman and killed a stimulant anthrax. The foam destroys chemical agents the same way detergent lifts away oily spots from a stained shirt. Its surfactants begin to chemically digest the chemical agent, but it is not well understood how foam kills spores. Research on the findings has been presented at various technical gatherings, most recently at the National Research Workshop on Chem-bio Warfare Physical Protection and Decontamination. The Sandia foam is inexpensive, costing about 15 cents per pound. The foam could be sprayed from handheld canisters, from trucks, or a fire sprinkler could be filled with it. The U.S. Department of Energy is currently funding development of the foam as part of its larger Chemical and Biological Nonproliferation Program.