Chemical manufacturer Kaneka Corp. said on Nov. 19 it has developed a natural cleaning agent for eliminating radioactive contamination.
Chemical manufacturer Kaneka Corp. said on Nov. 19 it has developed a natural cleaning agent for eliminating radioactive contamination.
The cleaning agent--the first of its kind in the industry to use a natural surfactant free of chemical derivatives, according to company officials--is already being shipped to a major construction company decontaminating areas affected by the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant disaster.
The cleaning agent eliminates radioactive cesium and other contaminants by peeling off dirt and filth, the same way general-use detergents do.
It is more eco-friendly than existing cleaning agents, and allows cleaning operations, including subsequent wastewater treatment, to be finished in less time, the officials said.
The main ingredient of the new product is derived from grains by fermenting them using bacteria that are related to the natto bacillus. Company workers found that adding calcium chloride following decontamination work allows the cleaning ingredients to form a deposit.
The new product makes it possible to remove the cleaning ingredient together with radioactive pollutants through use of a filtration treatment.
A dedicated street-sweeping vehicle will perform the actual cleaning operation by spraying the cleaning agent, diluted with water, onto the road and recovering contaminated water at the same time.
As conventional cleaning agents contain chemical derivatives, the recovered wastewater had to be purified after the contaminants were removed. The new product saves the time and costs of purifying the water, the officials said.