Reliability of Electronic Equipment Exposed to Chlorine Dioxide, an Agent Used for Biological Decontamination

We have studied the effects of chlorine dioxide fumigation on the reliability of electronic equipment using personal computers as examples of current commercial systems. Unit and subunit failure were objectively defined by standard commercial software. After the initial one-day exposures to the fumigation conditions, the systems were tested to assess impacts and retested monthly for six months. Cumulative failures of decontamination systems were many times higher than unexposed systems and increased progressively for the harshest fumigation conditions. Failures occured in electronic, mechanical, optoelectronic, and thermal subsystems. Failure mode and root-cause analysis were performed on a blind sample of systems. Corrosion of metals and degradation of organic materials were predominant causes of failure. Metal corrosion continued to progress well after the initial exposure.