The Power of Foam

Intelagard employs Compressed Air Foam (CAF) in its systems. CAF systems are an excellent choice for decontamination applications for a number of important reasons.

• Their ability to expand on-board resources in the form of expanded foam allows for maximum effectiveness per size and weight, whether used for decontamination, fire or other emergency response. For instance, a 757-liter system deploying EasyDECON DF200 CBW decontamination foam for response is capable of expanding the on-board 757-liters into 11,350-liters of expanded foam at a nominal, calibrated 15:1 expansion ratio.
• The systems have the ability to apply a wide range of liquid and foaming solutions for a variety of needs. Depending on the situation encountered, the systems have been tested with and can deploy EasyDECON DF200, Reformulated Decon Green (RDG), hot and cold water/soapy water, and chlorine-based decontamination solutions including HTH and STB. The systems can also be used to apply a new line of products available from Intelagard for highly effective radiological and nuclear contamination tacking and decontamination. Additional information on these products is available on request from Intelagard. Additionally, the same systems can deploy Class A, AFFF and AR-AFFF foams for fire suppression, and HAZMAT remediation solutions and bio-remediation foams to inert and break down hydrocarbon spills and other incidents.
• CAF-generated foams, especially when generated through Intelagard CAF systems, when deployed in decontamination operations, have the unique ability to adhere to vertical and inverted surfaces, allowing the durable foam blanket to maintain required wet contact time between the detected agent and the decontamination formulation.
• Depending on situational requirements, Intelagard CAF systems are capable of applying compressed air foam, air aspirated foam and liquid with simple control adjustments, in order to quickly and effectively switch operational modes to match specific needs.
• Intelagard foam systems are widely chosen for decontamination efficacy testing because of their ease of use and fully replicable foam expansion settings. Intelagard systems have been fully calibrated and rigorously tested to ensure that they will perform to exacting standards in extreme environments.
• The systems are capable of remote drafting operations for self-refill or deployment directly from off-board bulk resources. All Intelagard systems have been through extensive materials compatibility analysis to ensure that they are capable of deploying aggressive decontamination formulations without damage to the equipment.

For complete tactical solutions, select Intelagard equipment to deploy different types of foam formulations.

Class A Foam

Class A foam is a detergent-based foam that extends the life of water exposed to heat. By suspending water within the foam, it allows moisture to absorb into the surface of burning material to suppress fire more quickly than water alone. Class A foam expands 30:1 with water and can be used on homes, buildings, high rises, vehicles, plastics, rubber and timber. With a shelf life of up to 20 years, Class A foam evaporates in 20 minutes and is excellent for rapid fire suppression.

Class B Foam (AFFF)

Ideal for fighting fuel-based fires, Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) is a combination of fluoro-chemical detergent and synthetic foaming agents. It works best on kerosene, diesel oil and jet fuels. It is not as effective on high-octane gas. It can also be used to coat other chemicals to protect them from fire. Lasting 10 - 15 minutes, AFFF expands 15:1 and can be used with both fresh and salt water. It has a shelf life of 10+ years.

EasyDECON (DF200)

EasyDECON DF200 is a powerful and effective chemical/biological decontamination formulation. Developed by Sandia National Laboratories, this technology was used to help remediate Congressional Office Buildings and other contaminated facilities in 2001, and has been used extensively since then for a number of different applications.  EasyDECON DF200 is effective for both CW and BW warfare agents including in emergency response situations where the actual agent may not be known.  It is also effective for many toxic industrial chemical threats.  Successful “live-agent” effectiveness tests have been performed by the Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center (ECBC), the Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute (IITRI), and the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI).  The formulation has also been extensively tested by the DOD in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.