Improved Contact With Less Run-Off
The need to develop a system of decontamination for chemical protective ensembles and equipment
surfaces that insures ample surface contact while, at the same time, minimizing run-off, has always been
desired. Usher in electrostatic decontamination. The same technology used to powder coat surfaces and
paint automobiles can be used to encapsulate a hazmat technician during decon with limited amounts of
solution while achieving superior surface contact.
The systems, developed over a decade ago for military application, have never widely made it to the
civilian responder community primarily due to costs. However, with technological costs coming down,
combined with the increasing challenge of firefighter decontamination and infectious disease response,
manufacturers may now see a way to produce systems that are economically feasible.
Here’s how it works. In a specialized nozzle, a low velocity, high volume air stream is mixed with the
appropriate amount of your selected decontamination solution. This results in a highly atomized liquid
mist. These atomized droplets are then passed through an electro-magnetic field where the droplets are
instilled with a strong negative charge. The resulting finely divided mist is then discharged towards the
garment or surface area to be decontaminated. Since all of the droplets have the same charge, they all
repel each other creating a droplet "cloud". This cloud is then attracted to the garment or surface due to the difference in electromagnetic charges with that surface. The results? A uniform coverage of virtually
every surface area while using significantly less solution and generating less run-off. Extremely efficient
surface coverage is achieved, even in areas such as under the arms and in the creases of the ensemble.
Contact even occurs on the opposite side of the object due to increasing attractive forces which are many
times greater than gravity. As the droplets get closer to the object, the greater the attraction.
The civilian emergency response community needs to be evaluating these technologies for
implementation in hazardous materials response, firefighter and EMS unit decontamination. Checkout
Electrostatic Spraying Systems at www.maxcharge.com.