Decontamination foam (known commonly as decon foam) is a spray-on

cleaning Cleaning is the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment. Cleaning is often performed for aesthetic, hygienic, functional, environmental, or safety purposes. Cl ...

solution Solution may refer to: * Solution (chemistry), a mixture where one substance is dissolved in another * Solution (equation), in mathematics ** Numerical solution, in numerical analysis, approximate solutions within specified error bounds * Soluti ...

used on surfaces that have been

contaminated Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that spoils, corrupts, infects, makes unfit, or makes inferior a material, physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc. Types of contamination ...

with biological or chemical agents (e.g., chemical warfare agents, anthrax spores or other toxic industrial materials). Decon foam has been found to make numerous chemical and biological agents harmless. It is also intended for use in areas where large numbers of people have possibly been contaminated (e.g. at conventions,

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

s).

Composition

The composition of decontamination foams is essentially water and a surfactant, creating an

aqueous film forming foam Firefighting foam is a foam used for fire suppression. Its role is to cool the fire and to coat the fuel, preventing its contact with oxygen, thus achieving suppression of the combustion. Firefighting foam was invented by the Russian engineer a ...

that various reactive chemicals are then added, diminishing the amount of contaminants adhering to a surface and forming less hazardous products. Common reactants are

hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscous than water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3%� ...

and quaternary ammonium complexes. Decon foam often comes in multiple bottles, that, when mixed, combine to form the decontamination solution. The bottles should be kept separate until needed as the foam may begin to lose effectiveness after mixing. After these bottles are mixed together, the foam can be applied by spraying it on a contaminated area or by manual application. Solvent-based decontaminants work well on permeable

polymers A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic an ...

and are made to avoid corrosion, but can possibly alter polymer or plastic surfaces permanently. On the other hand, aqueous-based decontaminants are better with

polar Polar may refer to: Geography Polar may refer to: * Geographical pole, either of two fixed points on the surface of a rotating body or planet, at 90 degrees from the equator, based on the axis around which a body rotates * Polar climate, the c ...

surfaces like concrete, but have the potential to

corrode Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engin ...

surfaces. For decontamination foam to be successful, it is important to stabilize the foam as this will increase its efficiency. Modifying the surface of

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...

nanoparticles A nanoparticle or ultrafine particle is usually defined as a particle of matter that is between 1 and 100 nanometres (nm) in diameter. The term is sometimes used for larger particles, up to 500 nm, or fibers and tubes that are less than 1 ...

to a certain level has been found to increase stability of the foam.

Effectiveness

Decontamination foams can have varying levels of effectiveness depending on the decon foam, the type of contaminating agent, and the surface that is being decontaminated. Many decontaminants show effectiveness against chemical agents on

nonporous Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void (i.e. "empty") spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure ...

and non-permeable surfaces, such as

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...

and

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

, since the contaminant remains on the exterior of the surface and is easily accessible to the decontaminant. However, more

porous Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void (i.e. "empty") spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure ...

and permeable surfaces can absorb the contaminant, making it more difficult to decontaminate, and decontaminating agents can leave residual chemical contaminants on these surfaces.

Examples of use

* Decontamination of mailrooms during the

2001 anthrax attacks The 2001 anthrax attacks, also known as Amerithrax (a portmanteau of "America" and "anthrax", from its FBI case name), occurred in the United States over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 ...

. The surfaces in the mailrooms were coated with two to three inches of foam and left for an hour before being vacuumed up. The foam was able to kill much of the

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

without destroying the office equipment or furniture * As an

area denial weapons An area denial weapon is a defensive device used to prevent an adversary from occupying or traversing an area of land, sea or air. The specific method used does not have to be totally effective in preventing passage (and sometimes is not) as lon ...

medium for

crowd control Crowd control is a public security practice in which large crowds are managed in order to prevent the outbreak of crowd crushes, affray, fights involving drunk and disorderly people or riots. Crowd crushes in particular can cause many hundreds ...

, e.g. to make the ground slippery, as well as to reduce

visibility The visibility is the measure of the distance at which an object or light can be clearly discerned. In meteorology it depends on the transparency of the surrounding air and as such, it is unchanging no matter the ambient light level or time of ...

(as a

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

) * The

LAX Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

airport soap cannon can spray large quantities of decon foam on crowds of potentially exposed persons, e.g. to

decon Decon'' is a New York-based creative studio that houses production, creative, strategy, and music divisions. The company creates campaigns on behalf of brands and advertising agencies. History Originally named Deconstruction Company, the comp ...

an entire planeload of people who might be victims of a nuclear, chemical, or biological agent release * Decontamination of

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...

labs *

Mold remediation Mold (American English) or mould (British English), also sometimes referred to as mildew, is a fungal growth that develops on wet materials. Mold is a natural part of the environment and plays an important part in nature by breaking down dead o ...

* Disinfection of hospitals and schools *

Pesticide Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...

removal * Military applications * Preventative measure at presidential debates

Benefits of decontamination foam over other decontaminants

The two main benefits of decontamination foam over liquid decontaminants (

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate betwee ...

, decontamination solutions, etc.) are its effectiveness on non horizontal surfaces and its high air to liquid ratio. Other decontaminants are difficult to apply to walls and ceilings due to poor

adhesion Adhesion is the tendency of dissimilar particles or surfaces to cling to one another ( cohesion refers to the tendency of similar or identical particles/surfaces to cling to one another). The forces that cause adhesion and cohesion can be ...

, however decon foam is much better at adhering to surfaces, which increases the amount of time for the decontamination reaction to take place. Additionally, the high air to liquid ratio allows the foam to be used without over-applying the decontaminant. This high ratio also allows a small amount of liquid to cover a relatively large area in the event of a major contamination.

Formulas

*SNL100 (

Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Ba ...

) *MDF200 (Modec Decon Foam){{Cite web, title=MDF-200/500® - Span-World LLC., url=https://deconsolutions.com/product/mdf-200-500/, access-date=2021-11-26, website=deconsolutions.com, language=en-US

References

Hygiene Safety equipment