Aerosol or gaseous decontaminant generator and application thereof

Disclosed is a generator for the production of an oil based aerosol or a gaseous vapor, which can be used for decontamination of an area, by heating petroleum fuels, plant oils, animal fat derived oils, or light mineral oils in the temperature range of from 250° C. to 800° C., ±5° C. The generator is capable of producing oil particles of a diameter of about 0.04 microns to 3 microns, the most preferred diameter being of about 0.15 microns to 1.5 microns. A condensing trap distal to a concentric tubular oven, which is used to heat the oil, removes non vaporized oil particles from the smoke to produce a gaseous vapor having the advantage of leaving no residue in the area following the decontamination process. An additional filter apparatus controls the size of the oil particles released into the environment.