Removable, Sequestration Coatings for Mitigating Hazardous Contaminants Related to Deactivation and Decommissioning Activities

The Department of Energy (DOE) has identified the need for tools and technologies to ensure the safety of personnel who carry out decontamination and decommissioning work at unused nuclear facilities. Strippable, fixative coatings with a visual indication of contaminant (e.g., elemental mercury and its ions) capture would improve safety and minimize hazards and waste during the demolition process at sites heavily contaminated with mercury. Currently used fixative or strippable coatings contain hazardous materials and do not provide visual indication. ISL will develop environmentally friendly, smart coatings, RemedySeal, with embedded indicators for contaminants. These decontamination coatings will be removable. Sequestration of contaminants will be indicated visually through the color formation that occurs when color- forming chelators or ligands bind to target analytes. In Phase I, we will formulate and evaluate RemedySeal strippable coatings to establish the feasibility of sequestering the presence of Hg2+ and Hg. In Phase II, we will optimize the coating performance and rigorously evaluate the decontamination efficiency and the interference from other heavy metals. We also plan to field- test RemedySeal at an Hg-contaminated DOE site. These coatings can be adapted for trapping radioactive materials as well. DOEs environmental management program will benefit from RemedySeals cost-effectiveness. The Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency could use RemedySeal to sequester contaminants at their sites. RemedySeal could also be used by State and Federal agencies, humanitarian organizations and others to mitigate environmental hazards. The main market for these coating materials is in waste remediation and environmental cleanup activities after an accidental or intended exposure event.