Portable nonequilibrium plasma surface decontamination system

Summary form only given, as follows. InnovaTek is developing a surface decontamination technology that utilizes active species generated in a nonequilibrium corona plasma. In tests conducted at InnovaTek, our prototype device destroyed more than 6 million spores per square inch of an anthrax simulant, Bacillus subtillis, var. niger in 60 seconds. Destruction efficiencies in 60 seconds were as high as 98% for plastic, 99.9% for aluminum and 99.4% for cotton surfaces. Five-minute treatments resulted in a login reduction greater than three. Treatment did not harm the surfaces of the materials being decontaminated. The plasma technology was also tested against DMMP, a simulant for the chemical agent Sarin. Greater than a four log/sub 10/ destruction of the DMMP on an aluminum surface was achieved in a 10 minute treatment. An ion-trap mass spectrometer was utilized to collect time-resolved data on the treatment off-gases. These data indicate that only non-toxic fragments of the broken down DMMP molecule were present in the gas phase.