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.
Status of RITE's Airliner Cabin Environment Research (ACER) Program
An integrated research and development program is being pursued by academia and industry in the United States to quantify a number of important safety and health issues within airliner cabins. This paper will present an overview of recent results as well as the current status of the airliner cabin environment research activities underway by the FAA-funded National Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Research in the Intermodal Transport Environment (RITE). Research to be discussed includes cabin ozone levels, pesticide exposures, cabin pressure effects on health-compromised passengers and crew, cabin air quality sensing, infectious disease transmission as well as aircraft disinfection and decontamination processes including aircraft materials compatibility studies. The research results are expected to influence government rule-making actions in the future as well as provide the basis for design or operational changes by the private sector relevant to the aircraft cabin environment.
PASSIVE AND LOW-ENERGY RESEARCH AND PRACTICES-DEHUMIDIFICATION
Methods of achieving acceptable indoor conditions in overheated, temperate, and underheated humid climates are discussed and compared. Desiccants and desiccant systems utilizing solid and liquid sorbents and various low-energy mechanical systems are described and evaluated.