Hydrolytic Decontamination of a 4.2" Mustard Mortar

An empty, corroded 4.2 mustard HD mortar containing internal baffles was filled with HD 100 ml. Subsequently, it was subjected to a boiling water bath for 2 hr to determine if boiling water alone would be sufficient to remove HD to the 3x level 0.003 mgm3 vapor detection . Results showed that HD was undetectable following the boiling water treatment. The same contamination and decontamination procedure was used with 10 ml HT in the same munition with the same outcome.