Aircraft go through decon demo

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. James Madeiros
  • Air Armament Center Environmental Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) --  The final phase of a two-year long test to discover solutions to aircraft chemical and biological contamination is being conducted by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency here Sept. 8 to 24.

The Large Frame Aircraft Decontamination Demonstration examined the return of once-contaminated aircraft to a serviceable condition within regulations set forth by the United States, officials said.

“There is a policy in the Department of Defense that says if any aircraft becomes contaminated with a chemical-warfare agent overseas, that it cannot ever return to the United States,” said Dr. Ralph Haddock, demonstration test manager. “The purpose of that is to be sure that we never bring any chemical back to the states and expose our populace to it.”

The policy established for the United States was adopted by allied nations as well, said Haddock. That leaves very few options for a contaminated aircraft to remain useful in the military inventory.

The reduction agency developed the demonstration analysis to find a way to decontaminate aircraft using existing cleaning technologies. This would remove contaminants to a degree that would allow its return to U.S. soil, he said.

A partnership between officials from Pacific Air Forces, the reduction agency, Dugway Proving Ground and Eglin Air Force Base established a way to conduct the demonstration in an appropriate manner with qualified people.

“I’m hoping we’ll be able to show that we can remove all the contamination we can detect,” Haddock said. “Then we’ll be able to say the level of contamination is below our level of detection, and our level of detection is in the vicinity of 1,000 times lower than a harmful level.”

To simulate a weapons-grade chemical agent, reduction agency officials will spray tripropyl phosphate onto a C-141 Starlifter from the 305th Airlift Squadron at McGuire AFB, N.J. The phosphate is similar to mineral oil and most closely resembles the properties of the chemical agent VX in substance.

The tests begin with spraying the chemical on the C-141 and sampling it in 50 different focus areas, half for chemical vapors, the other for liquid. Next, the aircraft sits to simulate a real-world lapse of time in response. Then, it is flown to simulate an evacuation from a contaminated area. Finally, it is taxied onto a special tarp, or containment system, and is decontaminated, officials said.

The cleaning process is repeated up to three times, at which point “trouble areas” are spot-cleaned.

The entire two-year project costs approximately $3.8 million. Of that total amount, the final phase here costs more than $1 million.

“We think it’s a bargain price if we can figure out how to save a $200 million aircraft,” Haddock said.

The 46th Test Wing officials here provided a tarmac area, facilities and a runway to conduct the test, as well as support in logistics safety and environmental precautions, said Steve Kennedy, 46th Operations Group test program specialist.

“We are a provider of a service for a very important mission,” Kennedy said. “We must be able to decontaminate and return an aircraft to serviceable condition.”

Civilian organizations and foreign governments are also interested in the findings of this project, Kennedy said.