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Move over, Swiffer

Posted March 03, 2007 12:37 PM

From The Globe and Mail - Technology News:

OAK RIDGE, Tenn — This is one cleaning that could pass anybody's white-glove test. A high-tech dust rag developed by a research chemist at a nuclear weapons plant can pick up potentially deadly beryllium particles that are 20 times smaller than what can be seen with the naked eye. Its inventor, Ron Simandl, says it could be used to mop up industrial accidents or wipe down semiconductor "clean rooms." And look out Swiffer dusters: The "Negligible-Residue Non-tacky Tack Cloth" could be bound for the consumer market, albeit with a catchier name. Simandl, who is used to working in a secretive environment at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, isn't saying much about the ingredients in his special cloth-coating formula. The patent-pending treatment, which could work on any rag, has been tested on cheesecloth for six months with great success, he said. Metal, ceramic, plastic, fibers, radiological contaminants all have been picked up.

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Guru
Engineering Fields - Retired Engineers / Mentors - New Member

Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Brecksville, OH
Posts: 1621
Good Answers: 18
#1

Re: Move over, Swiffer

03/04/2007 4:15 PM

Sounds like a great boon to those interested in cleaning anything from soiled surfaces and I can see a number of industrial uses in the metal industries. Raises a question though, given the dark side of uses of any new technology. How does it work on fingerprints. It could have a negative impact on criminal investigations if widely available to all consumers.

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