— Alan Flurry

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A UGA research team has invented a quick, effective way
to decontaminate people exposed to hazardous chemicals or biological
agents.

The walk-through booth uses static electricity to set up an attraction between a person's skin and the chemicals used to decontaminate it, much like static cling causes socks to stick together in the dryer.

The booth is outfitted with nozzles — each with a small computer chip — that produce mists of electrostatically charged droplets. Charged mists of disinfectants or antitoxins tend to adhere to skin better than uncharged ones, coating even armpit and groin areas, according to S. Edward Law.

Law, a professor of biological and agricultural engineering, leads the research team and directs the university's Applied Electrostatics Laboratory. The team includes UGA microbiologist Mark A. Harrison and former graduate student Steven Cooper of Electrostatic Spraying Systems Inc., whose company manufactures nozzles for farm equipment under UGA Research Foundation-licensed patents.

"It's mobile and not restricted to hospital use," said Law, who estimates that as many as 90 people can be sprayed — one at a time, from head to toe — in an hour.

The booth also uses as little as 3 ounces — or less than half a cup — of decontaminating spray per person. And it produces only small amounts of contaminated waste — 20 milliliters, or roughly 4 teaspoons, per person.

Law presented the team's research at the 2003 Institute of Physics Conference on Electrostatics in Edinburgh, Scotland this past March.

So far, the United States, Japan and Australia have issued patents for Law's newest electrostatic nozzle. Patents are pending in several other countries.

For more information access, www.engr.uga.edu/people/faculty/law/ or contact S. Edward Law at edlaw@engr.uga.edu.

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