Paint Decontamination Kinetics

Abstract

Decontamination kinetics of a high-gloss polyurethane paint have been investigated using a novel flow cell experiment where the sample was counted in situ during decontamination. The ¹³⁴Cs, ¹³⁷Cs, and ⁹⁰Y decontaminations follow a rate law that can be predicted theoretically for contaminant ion desorption from weakly heterogeneous random surface adsorption sites. Paint surfaces show the same decontamination kinetics after damage by abrasion or ultraviolet irradiation prior to contamination. The systems investigated exhibit Freundlich adsorption isotherm behavior during contamination; this is also characteristic of weakly heterogeneous random surfaces and is very commonly observed in ion adsorption studies at low concentrations.