Thank God there were no chemical weapons used in Iraq. Because the U.S. Army is still using toxic, 40 year-old agents to decontaminate soldiers and their gear, National Defense reports.
Decontamination agents in use today, such as high test hypochlorite (HTH), super tropical bleach (STB) and decontamination solution 2 (DS-2)... can damage equipment, pollute the environment and cause personal injury, according to experts. Many of them also are flammable and, therefore, cant be used on ships, new high-performance aircraft and non-hardened equipment.
The Pentagon has proposed $52 million for decontaminant research in 2004. One of the ideas being examined: a group of enzymes that could wipe out both chemical weapons, like nerve agents, and biological threats, like anthrax spores. According to a paper published by the Armys Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, "catalytic enzymes are highly efficient, detoxifying many times their own weight of agent in seconds or minutes."
The enzymes are, suppsedly, non-corrosive, non-flammable and environmentally safe, too. According to National Defense, the enzymes would come as a dried powder, to be added to a water-based spray or foam system.
