Agent Handler John Williamson displays a CeBeR Multipurpose Wipe packet that contains a towelette impregnated with a chemical agent decontaminant. The wipe is designed for immediate use after an attack or incident, or to decontaminate sensitive items...

Coupons and latex dental dam in jars filled with solvent. Later, a sample of solvent is removed and analyzed with a gas chromatograph for the presence of agent. Comparing how much agent was placed on each coupon to how much remains indicates the effe...

U.S. ARMY DUGWAY PROVING GROUND, Utah -- Decontamination after a chemical or biological attack or incident can damage individual equipment. Most decontaminants are liquid and corrosive, applied with high-pressure sprayers, then scrubbed into the surface with mops or bristle brushes. Common decontamination methods may be impossible to use with personal equipment items, and a decontamination line may be infeasible if a threat still exists. The Warfighter needs a means to begin immediate chemical agent decontamination, without damaging fragile equipment.

Such a means was recently tested at Dugway Proving Ground (DPG) the nation's premiere center for testing defenses against chemical and biological warfare agents.

The test was sponsored by the Department of Defense's Decontamination Family of Systems, under its Joint Service Equipment Wipe (JSEW) program. Tested was a small towelette impregnated with decontaminant, manufactured by STERIS Corporation, an Ohio-based manufacturer of chemical and biological decontamination systems. The CeBeR multipurpose wipe comes in a small, sealed packet and is easily carried.

Validation of the testing process was completed in March, to ensure the test was accurate and met test objectives. Testing for record was June through early August.

All testing was conducted in DPG's Small Item Decontamination (SID) chamber, a 27-foot-long fixture that functions like an assembly line, with modules that may be sealed off from each other. An item enters a sealed module at one end, then is passed by hand into other sealable modules for each test stage.

Testing was rigorous and authentic. CeBeR multipurpose wipes were tested in conditions that ranged from -4 to 118 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 to 48 Celsius), in relative humidity from 5 to 70 percent.

To test the CeBeR multipurpose wipes, two-inch-diameter thin disks, called coupons, were contaminated with various chemical agents. Coupon composition varied, reflecting each material's use:

• Aluminum -- Equipment housings, optics, rifle receiver.

• ABS plastic -- Electrical and electronic enclosures, keyboard keys.

• Lexan -- Data disks, electrical and telecommunications hardware, bullet-resistant windows, eyeglasses, electronic screens.

• Steel -- Covered in Chemical Agent Resistant Coating, in varying colors and patterns.

About 1300 coupons were used during the test, then the agent was allowed to interact with the coupon in a process called aging or weathering.

"Each agent acts differently," said Test Officer Bill Davis of DPG's Chemical Test Division, who oversaw the JSEW test in the SID.

After aging, each coupon was passed within the same module for decon-wiping with a CeBeR multipurpose wipe. Wiping methods were very specific, based upon the manufacturer's recommendation and other optimization testing. After decontamination, the coupons were moved into another module for contact sampling. The coupon then had a thin sheet of latex dental dam placed against its wiped surface. A piece of aluminum foil was placed atop the latex, and a heavy weight placed on the foil. The weight presses the dental latex against the decontaminated coupon. The latex absorbs any remaining agent. The aluminum foil is a barrier, preventing the weight from becoming contaminated through the latex.

After 15 minutes, each coupon and its dental latex are removed, and placed in individual, labeled jars of solvent. The jars are agitated in a laboratory fume hood, an air-filtered enclosure. Solvent is then removed from the jars and placed in individual gas chromatograph vials.

Later, small samples of each jar's solvent are analyzed with a gas chromatograph for the presence of agent.

"Comparing residual to original (application of chemical agent) tells you the effectiveness of the decontamination process," said Davis.

Do the wipes work? So soon after testing, it can't be said. Data is still being analyzed, to ensure the resulting test report accurately relates the performance and capabilities of STERIS' CeBeR multipurpose wipe. The CeBeR multipurpose wipe may have passed with flying colors, failed, or only works well within certain parameters. But one thing is certain: if it passes muster, then Warfighters and Emergency Responders may be assured it works as needed -- and DPG has the data to prove it.