CLEANUP OF CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENTS ON SOILS USING SIMPLE WASHING OR CHEMICAL TREATMENT PROCESSES

Several simple processes have been studied for the destruction of chemical agents, Soman and Mustard, on soils. A double wash or an extended single wash with water was effective in removing Mustard and Soman from soil; addition of either anionic or cationic surfactant did not improve removal efficiency. Soils with higher organic carbon content were more difficult to decontaminate. The most effective chemical process for the removal of Mustard was treatment with hypochlorite; treatment with Na2CO3 or NaOH were almost as effective as hypochlorite in cleaning Mustard contaminated soil. Soman was removed most effectively by treatment with Na2CO3. Overall the most efficient process for the destruction of both Mustard and Soman was treatment with Na2CO3 solution.