New "wipes" for more effective purification of toxic chemicals

A joint team of scientists from Texas, California, and Maryland reports the development of knowledge-intensive "wipes" capable of rapidly purifying people and equipment exposed to a wide variety of industrial and military chemicals, including mustard gas

A joint team of scientists from Texas, California and Maryland reports the development of knowledge-intensive "wipes" capable of rapidly cleaning people and equipment exposed to a wide range of industrial and military chemicals, including the deadly chemical warfare agent.mustard". These new generation wipes, which are a significant step forward towards a personal purification system of almost any toxic or dangerous chemical, will be able to help save the lives of countless soldiers and civilians.

The researchers point out that the military has long been using powders and liquids to decontaminate soldiers and equipment exposed to chemical warfare agents. However, powders, such as activated carbon, can be dispersed into the air and harm the lungs, and water-based cleaning liquids are suitable for a limited group of chemicals or can destroy electronic equipment. Better materials are needed, the researchers suggest.

In their new study, the scientists describe the development of a new cloth-based wipe consisting of a layer of activated carbon sandwiched between two layers of absorbent fibers. The researchers measured the ability of the new fabric to absorb and adsorb sulfuric mustard, a deadly liquid that causes blisters on the skin, and compared their results against activated carbon particles and military kits for purifying halq that use powdered carbon mixed with other substances.

The new wipes were better than the activated carbon alone and equally good to the military decontamination kits, the researchers claim, noting that the flexible and layered wipes are a promise for decontamination of a wide variety of surfaces andtoxic or dangerous substances.

The news about the study