Degradation and Decontamination of Vx in Concrete

Reactions of VX in concrete have been studied in situ using solid state P NMR. The size of VX drops deposited on concrete affect the natural degradation rate, with 4 μL drops reacting faster than 0.2 μL drops. Water added to concrete samples containing sorbed VX to mimic precipitation and/or a potential decontamination strategy resulted in the desorption of copious amounts of VX into the water along with its decomposition products. The rate of VX degradation in the presence of external water was only slightly enhanced relative to the background degradation rate. Decontamination of VX sorbed in concrete using the new Decon Green decontaminant resulted in the nearly complete reaction of VX within a few hours.