Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide on Common Aviation Textiles
Modern transportation systems are subject to unintentional contamination from infected passengers, as well as deliberate contamination from criminals and political adversaries. Hydrogen peroxide has been used for years as a disinfectant in the medical community and is under consideration in the dilute vapor form as a decontaminant/disinfectant/sterilant for transportation vehicles like aircraft, buses, subway trains, ambulances, etc. Although the biological efficacy of STERIS Corporation’s Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide (VHP® a registered trademark of the STERIS Corporation, Mentor, OH) technology has been demonstrated elsewhere, the compatibility of the process with typical aircraft materials has not been rigorously established. The present report documents a materials compatibility evaluation involving the effects of hydrogen peroxide exposure on the mechanical properties and flammability of the following commercial-grade textile materials: wool, nylon, polyester, Nomex®, and leather.
Field Evaluation of Whole Airliner Decontamination Technologies - Wide-Body Aircraft With Dual-Use Application for Railcars
The outcome of a field evaluation of decontamination of a wide-body aircraft using AeroClave’s thermal decontamination system both as a stand-alone technology and as a means of delivering STERIS vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP®) is discussed. The report is submitted in the context of a decontamination technology selection exercise, laboratory work conducted on the efficacy of thermal decontamination, and as a follow-on to a field evaluation performed previously on a McDonnell Douglas DC–9 aircraft. The thermal decontamination system appears to be capable of reproducing temperatures needed for an efficacious antiviral process. However, work will be required to improve the temperature control and humidity levels attainable. The thermal decontamination + VHP add-in combination was found to be sporicidal at numerous locations within the cabin. The impact of issues relating to the failure to deactivate Biological Indicators (BIs) in certain locations with limited peroxide penetration, condensation of peroxide within the cabin, and more generally, issues related to the presence of residual peroxide in the cabin after aeration need to be addressed. Serious weather-related disruptions and a limited budget, coupled with a tight schedule, precluded these concerns being addressed on this occasion. Overall, the field evaluation of both the stand-alone thermal decontamination system and the VHP add-in can be described as successful.
The infrared spectra of saturated fatty acids with even number of carbon atoms from caproic, C6 (Hexanoic), to stearic, C18 (Octadecanoic), and of their methyl and ethyl esters
SummaryInfrared spectra from 1 to 12 microns have been obtained for 7 of the homologous series of monobasic, straight-chain, saturated fatty acids of even carbon atom content from C6 to C18 and of their methyl and ethyl esters.Infrared data are presented as plots of the percentage transmission against the wavelength in microns on a linear wavelength scale for each compound, and the exact wavelength positions of maxima of the 11 most prominent bands are tabulated.Correlations of each of these bands with molecular structure are given.Methods for distinguishing the acids from the esters and of differentiating an ethyl ester from a methyl ester by observation of infrared spectra are described.An explanation, supported by earlier work with deuterium-substituted compounds, is given to account for the nonappearance, in the spectra of the fatty acids of any absorption attributable to either the free O—H group or the bonded O—H... O group.Evidence has been accumulated which indicates an association of some sort of the esters and that this association probably involves the carbonyl and the methyl groups.Data are presented to show which of the bands in the infrared spectra do and which do not follow Beer’s law.