Decontamination Solution Calculator

Agent Needed scales directly with Solution Volume for every Decon Solution Type -- a bigger batch always needs proportionally more agent, using a fixed mix ratio per solution type (soap and water, baking soda, TSP, and the specialized agent each use a flat ounces-per- gallon rate). Bleach is the one exception: for Bleach, Target Concentration sets the mix ratio directly as a percent-by-volume dilution, and has no effect on any other Decon Solution Type. That percentage describes how much of the final solution is bleach product by volume, not the resulting available-chlorine concentration -- a 10% solution corresponds to the CDC's well-known 1:10 bleach dilution (roughly 1 part household bleach to 9 parts water) commonly used for disinfecting surfaces after contact with bodily fluids, while a lighter 1% solution is closer to the roughly 1:100 dilution used for routine environmental surface disinfection. Soap and Bleach are measured in fluid ounces and displace water from the batch; Baking Soda, TSP and the Specialized agent are measured in ounces by weight and dissolve into it. Agent Measured In tells you which unit the Agent Needed figure is in for the type you selected. Total Water Throughput w/ Rinses adds the rinse volume to your batch size -- rinses are plain water, not more decon solution, so Agent Needed is deliberately sized for the decon batch alone.

Plan on Agent Needed of agent plus Total Water Throughput w/ Rinses of total water throughput at the station. Contact Time and Rinse Cycles are set entirely by Contaminant Type rather than by the agent used, and the specific minute figures are planning placeholders, not published protocol values -- real dwell times come from the product label and the contaminant's own safety data sheet. Two cautions the calculator cannot enforce for you. First, agent and contaminant must be chemically compatible: bleach must never be combined with acids or with ammonia-bearing material, which liberates chlorine and chloramine gas, and it is not the right choice for many organic chemical spills for exactly that reason. Second, radiological contamination is not neutralised by any dwell time at all -- it is removed mechanically by washing, wiping and fixation, and the longer figure shown here reflects the extra physical passes that takes, not a chemical reaction. These figures are general planning references, not a substitute for your site's hazmat decontamination plan or the specific product label instructions for the agent you're using.