CLOTHING DECONTAMINATION AND EVALUATION OF LAUNDRY METHODS

The over-all objectives of this project encompassed testing the suitability of standard and special laundering methods and standard equipment for field decontamination of clothing; evaluating the contaminability and decontaminability of selected fabrics, and testing of experimental clothing monitoring instruments. Garments and fabrics contaminated by controlled methods were used during the operation for testing the equipment and evaluating fabrics and formulae. 8tandard Army laundering methods and equipment, including wooden washers, were effective for decontaminating clothing in the field. A decontaminating laundry formula employing citric acid and tartaric acid followed by either an organic or inorganic chelating agent results in a higher degree of decontamination than other formulae tested. The standard Quartermaster Corps mobile field laundry formula resulted in satisfactory decontamination with the type of soil and activity encountered and the cost of supplies is approximately one-tenth as much as the special formulae. Woolen garments and fabric swatches were decontanninated by laundering as readily as cotton or synthetic fabrics. Clothing monitoring instruments under development appear suitable for monitoring clothing under field conditions to determine the degree of contamination both before and after precessing. (auth