A new portable airborne and surface decontamination solution from Scott Safety is achieving a military first – decontamination of chemical, biological and radiological vapours, liquids and particles simultaneously in as little as five minutes. A manufacturer of respiratory protection for the UK MoD, Scott Safety has been at the forefront of CBRN defence and civil protection for over 80 years.

The Light Decontamination System (LDS) can decontaminate environments as large as 500m³. At only 22 kg, LDS is the lightest portable decontamination system in its class, enabling instant decontamination of equipment, personnel, infrastructure and terrain.

“LDS will revolutionise the armed forces,” says Dr David Crouch, Global Product Manager for Military & Civil Defence at Scott Safety. “It’s lightweight, portable yet extremely powerful. In independent validation trials, the system decontaminated anthrax by 99.9999999 per cent from a 100 m³ space, in less than five minutes.”

The LDS utilises new Scott Safety atomisation technology to create a fine mist to ensure even and consistent coverage and haptic dry surfaces. Rapidly projecting these droplets in the form of a dense and turbulent mist that reaches all airborne and surface threats simultaneously the system is capable of delivering CBRN decontaminants to all non-line of sight surfaces. This process drastically reduces both the chemical footprint and time required for effective decontamination. Unlike many traditional decontamination systems that utilise liquids, this new process forces powders to behave like a gas, ensuring that sensitive and electronic equipment is not damaged.

Environmentally friendly and cost-efficient, LDS typically requires only five per cent of decontaminant compared to traditional systems due to the gas-like behaviour of the small droplet mist. Easily directed and controlled with a lance, the system achieves a projection distance of up to 30 metres and is compatible with a range of chemistries.

For chemical and biological decontamination, the LDS is chemically agnostic so can use a diverse range of decontaminants including delivery of alkoxides, hydrogen peroxide, hypochlorous acid, peracetic acid esters, chlorine dioxide, sodium hypochlorite and potassium peroxymonosulfate. Radiological and nuclear decontamination includes delivery of trippable coatings, fixatives and other sequestering liquids.

Compatible with a range of facemasks, including the General Service Respirator (GSR) developed for the UK MoD, the LDS can be used in a wide range of hazard management situations, e.g., critical and iconic infrastructure, airport buildings, hospitals, portable isolation units, underground facilities, buildings and rooms in general, containers, storage facilities, aircraft and ships holds, vehicles and so on.

Flexible and scalable, Scott Safety’s decontamination solution can be adapted for large scale infrastructure whereby longer duration or wider area capability of up to 2000m³ is required. The Remote Decontamination System (RDS) operates using a remotely operated 360° collapsible tripod to provide increased levels of decontamination efficacy and performance. The solution is highly portable and is suitable for internal and external decontamination of larger military equipment including armoured vehicles, aircraft and other transport systems.

For further information, visit www.scottsafety.com/emea