DENOTER

In an international context strongly marked since 2013 by the use of chemical weapons, European countries have to be prepared for possible terrorist attacks. The use of NRBC (Nuclear Radiological Biological and Chemical) agents from military stocks or derived from substances of the civil chemical or biological industry reveals a crucial need to improve the means of countermeasures in terms of Protection, decontamination and treatment. Decontamination aims to eliminate and / or neutralize completely or partially toxic and pathogenic agents present on contaminated surfaces. In the case of human contamination, most chemical and biological agents have a high toxicity and an ability to penetrate the body via skin contact, leading to rapid general intoxication. Organophosphorus agents (VX, pesticides), organochlorine agents (yperite) or bacteria of the gender Bacillus, Pasteurella and Brucella can be cited. Decontamination should be carried out as quickly as possible in order to limit penetration into the body and to avoid secondary and / or cross contamination. Today's solutions are often not specific (washing with water eventually containing soap, application of absorbent powders) and generate toxic waste which must then be treated. The need for a decontamination device that does not require water (dry decontamination), with a multifunctional action, easy to use and generating little contaminated waste, appears crucial to the various actors in the field (military, first responders, etc…). The objective of this project is to provide the necessary level of technological maturity for the development of multifunctional decontamination devices that are effective against both chemical and biological agents on all types of surfaces including the skin. Previous scientific work carried out by partners 1 (LAGEP) and 2 (OUVRY) in the form of a PhD thesis co-financed by the DGA and the CNRS on the one hand and an industrial feasibility for developing a dry decontamination device on the other hand highlighted the interest of metal oxides (in particular cerium and magnesium oxides) in the form of powders combining absorption and degradation of chemical and biological toxic agents. The aim of this project is to enhance these results by improving the understanding degradation mechanisms by metal oxide powders to integrate them into a device answering civil and military needs. It is based on three axes: (i) fundamental study of the mechanisms of degradation of chemical and biological toxic agents by metal oxide powders; Ii / in-depth study of the decontamination device integrating the metal oxide particles and optimization of the device; Iii) evaluation of the decontamination efficiency of the device on model surfaces (glass, metal, concrete) and on the skin. These trials will be conducted with simulants of chemical and biological toxic agents to allow safe laboratory experiments. Ultimately, this project aims to offer a new decontamination device, multifunctional, easy-to-handle and generating low toxic wastes to overcome the shortcomings of existing systems and reinforce the existing offer.