Decontamination of Aramid Personal Protective Equipment from Alpha and Beta Emitters

Procedures for decontamination of aramid-based personal protective equipment from combined alpha and beta contamination were developed at the Mayak Production Association. Only decontamination formulations containing reductants capable of reducing plutonium to the lower oxidation state (III) appeared to be effective. It was demonstrated that after five decontamination cycles based on the developed procedures, physicomechanical and protective properties of the aramid fabrics remained unchanged.