ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on one of the more challenging aspects of chemical warfare agent decontamination—remediating large, complex systems, primarily contaminated aircraft. Among complex systems, state-of-the-art aircraft present special challenges, as they can be readily targeted, are expensive to procure, and are not quickly replaced if sensitive parts are damaged by agents or decontaminants. Historical decontaminants, such as bleach and Decontaminating Solution 2, proved far too deleterious to aircraft materials, yet decades of research into more benign alternatives have not satisfied the aircraft community. Hot air decontamination and bio-thermal decontamination are the most promising technologies for full-scale, interior and exterior, aircraft chemical decontamination. Generally speaking, chemical weapons do not pose a direct threat to aircraft and other types of hardware at risk of being exposed in an attack, although some reactive chemical agents, such a chlorine gas, can cause more extensive damage to materials.
