Decontamination of Protective Suit Materials
SourceThe results of an ongoing study of the decontamination of high-cost personal protective suit materials at the NASA Johnson Space Center White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) are presented. Chloropel (a chlorinated polyethylene) was subjected to nitrogen tetroxide and monomethylhydrazine hypergolic propellant exposures to provide contaminated specimens. Each exposure sequence was followed by a simple room temperature water wash decontamination sequence. Two versions of heated decontamination sequences used in the study are a simple purged heated sequence, and a heated evacuation sequence. After the second water decontamination sequence these two versions of heated decontamination sequences were utilized to further reduce the concentration of residual fuel in the mateeffective in releasing residual propellant from the material. Tests were not undertaken to examine the effluent gases for oxidizer related materials. Future work to better understand the decontamination of personal protective equipment is described.