Browsing by Subject "decontamination"

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    Effictiveness of non-commercial cleaning agents verses commercial agents
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2013-04-05) Stultz, Samantha
    This study determined the efficiency of using non -commercial cleaning agents for the radioactive decontamination of wet 99mTc-pertechnetate (99mTcO4) spills. Methods: Two trials were run using six cleaning agents (Radiacwash™(Biodex), bleach, Windex® (S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.), Fantastic® (S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.), water, and soap and water for 99mTcO4 decontamination effectiveness on vinyl floor tile. Results: All the decontaminaton agents cleaned up well, and were all below background. The Geiger-Muller Detector (GM) data showed that there was no fixed contamination on any of the tiles for both trials. The background for trial 1 was 0.083, and trial 2 background was 0.079. Trial 1 exposure rate after decontamination of water was 0.030. Trial 2 exposure rate after decontamination of water was 0.032, and Windex® (S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.) was 0.031. Conclusion: Trial 1 showed that water was the best cleaning agent and trial 2 showed that water and Windex® (S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.) are the best cleaning agents.
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    Environmental Decontamination of a Chemical Warfare Simulant Utilizing a Membrane Vesicle-Encapsulated Phosphotriesterase
    (ACS, 2018) Alves, Nathan J.; Moore, Martin; Johnson, Brandy J.; Dean, Scott N.; Turner, Kendrick B.; Medintz, Igor L.; Walper, Scott A.; Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine
    While technologies for the remediation of chemical contaminants continue to emerge, growing interest in green technologies has led researchers to explore natural catalytic mechanisms derived from microbial species. One such method, enzymatic degradation, offers an alternative to harsh chemical catalysts and resins. Recombinant enzymes, however, are often too labile or show limited activity when challenged with nonideal environmental conditions that may vary in salinity, pH, or other physical properties. Here, we demonstrate how phosphotriesterase encapsulated in a bacterial outer membrane vesicle can be used to degrade the organophosphate chemical warfare agent (CWA) simulant paraoxon in environmental water samples. We also carried out remediation assays on solid surfaces, including glass, painted metal, and fabric, that were selected as representative materials, which could potentially be contaminated with a CWA.