Evaluation of the Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide on Common Aircraft Electrical Materials

Study aims to find a suitable decontaminant/disinfectant/sanitizer that can be used successfully in complex transportation vehicles with no negative impact on sensitive electronic equipment.

Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC

Among all of the large-scale disinfection and/or decontamination technologies available, vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP^®) is of particular interest due to its rapid sterilization, easy usage, intrinsic environmental friendliness (i.e. simple by-products composed of only water and oxygen), and compatibility with many materials and systems.

VHP^® technology has been investigated for possible usage in aircraft applications. These studies used vaporized hydrogen peroxide concentrations in the range of 150 - 600 ppm and cycle times of 80 - 120 min. Maximum concentrations of hydrogen peroxide vapor were carefully controlled to avoid condensation in cool locations within the aircraft cabins. Although these studies did not evaluate the compatibility of the various cabin materials with exposure to vaporized hydrogen peroxide, analysis of the collected data showed that VHP^® did not seem to have any visible effect on the materials.