An innovative chemical decontamination system for free release of metals

A cost-effective optimized system has been developed for chemically decontaminating metals to free release levels. The system, based on a patented formic acid process, DECOFOR trademark, is applicable to a wide range of metals, such as nickel, lead, copper, carbon steels, and aluminum. The process has major advantages in that it is economical, employs no toxic chemicals, generates no liquid waste and only minimal solid wastes, and the water from decontamination is completely recycled. This system also incorporates a precision metal sampling technique to measure the effectiveness of the process before and after decontamination and, in turn, to develop an overall decontamination strategy tailored to the specific application at hand. Decontamination is rapid and effective: removal kinetics at room temperature are approximately 1.0 mg per cm2 of surface area per minute for Pb and Cu; and 0.1 to 1.0 mg per cm2 of surface area per hour for Al, carbon steels, and Ni, at acid concentration of 0.5% to 1%. The process is directly applicable to decontamination to free release levels of the contaminated metals inventory within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) complex and at other decommissioning projects