US Invention for Field Deployment Removes Sarin, Other Chemical Agents

A machine that removes Sarin and other deadly chemical warfare agents from soil by using a high-temperature plasma torch has been successfully tested, with the goal of eventually producing a portable version small enough to fit in the back of a standard military vehicle, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — DARPA modified the PACKWADS system to operate without water as part of an effort to develop a portable system that can be readily deployed to remote locations where water may not be available, the release explained.

"The soil-scrubbing technology was tested in conjunction with the Tactical Plasma Arc Chemical Warfare Agents Destruction System (PACWADS), a thermal treatment system already under development for use by US military services," the release explained.

DARPA modified the PACKWADS system to operate without water as part of an effort to develop a portable system that can be readily deployed to remote locations where water may not be available, the release explained.

In tests, the modified machine removed "99.9999 percent" of chemical warfare agents without creating any hazardous waste by-products, the release noted.

DARPA is a little known agency in the US Department of Defense that develops exotic technologies such as artificial limbs that move in response to signals from brain — a development prompted by service members who suffered devastating combat injuries.