(242a) Development of Mobile Decontamination Equipment for Hazardous Materials

A rapid emergency response is the most important task to prevent toxic dispersion when hazardous materials are released. This study focused on the development of mobile decontamination equipment which can respond immediately to remove or neutralize released hazardous materials. The developed equipment is novel in that it combines collecting the hazardous materials and dispersing neutralization agents in one system. In 2013, the Korean Ministry of Environment designated 42 hazardous materials, mostly in liquid phase, based on the risk to the environment, the risk to human, the frequency of accidents, and the volumes handled. Accordingly, Korean government established a 6 million US dollar project for developing mobile equipment for the decontamination of hazardous materials. Various prevention techniques and existing mobile decontamination equipment were studied to help develop efficient equipment. After considering the corrosion and fouling effects of designated hazardous materials, carbon steel was selected as the material of construction with Teflon coating to exposed applied portions. The equipment, designed to handle up to 30 m³ of hazardous materials, was comprised of four truck mounted units; spill collecting, neutralization tank, dispersal, and neutralization agent tank. The operation was as follows. First, the spill collecting unit collects a large amount of released liquid hazardous material and it is neutralized in the second unit. After collecting, the dispersal unit disperses neutralization agent to neutralize remaining hazardous materials in field. In this study, pilot scale equipment was developed that its dispersing distance and the rate of collecting was tested. In addition, neutralization agents were sprayed to the various acids for the test which was conducted in 7 m³ size facility. Test drew several important points that are effective for improving quality of the final product. In conclusion, this study could help reduce toxic dispersion which deals with hazardous material releases.