Mission-Specific Competencies:
Technical Decontamination
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Objectives (1 of 5)
• Plan a response by selecting a technical decontamination process that will minimize the hazard
• Identify and describe the limitations and advantages of each of the technical decontamination methods
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Objectives (2 of 5)
• Describe the technical decontamination process
• Identify the supplies and equipment needed for technical decontamination
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Objectives (3 of 5)
• Identify precautionary measures, equipment, and procedures for handling anything or anyone brought to the decontamination corridor
• Identify role of operations level responder assigned to technical decontamination
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Objectives (4 of 5)
• Identify procedures for determining whether the items have been fully decontaminated
• Identify the importance, steps, and requirements of maintaining records
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Objectives (5 of 5)
• Identify precautionary measures, equipment, and procedures for processing evidence during technical decontamination
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Decontamination (1 of 2)
• Physical or chemical process
• Reduces and prevents spread of contaminants
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Decontamination (2 of 2)
• Spread of contaminants is by– People– Animals– The environment– Equipment
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Emergency Decontamination
• Used in potentially life-threatening situations
• Mass decontamination is a way of performing
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Gross Decontamination
• Takes place within controlled decontamination corridor
• Consists of pre-wash before technical decontamination
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Technical Decontamination
• More thorough process than gross decontamination
• Often involves: – Cleaning solutions – Scrub brushes
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Special Decontamination Situations
• It may be necessary to decontaminate:– Search canines– Criminal suspects– Firearms– Specialized equipment– Pieces of evidence
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Technical Decontamination Details (1 of 2)
• More thorough than gross decontamination (its predecessor step)
• Decontamination team– May use water or special cleaning solution– Dry decontamination removes and disposes
of PPE
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Technical Decontamination Details (2 of 2)
Technical decontamination is a more thorough cleaning process that often involves the use of brushes and chemical-specific
cleaning solutions.
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Technical Decontamination Methods (1 of 3)
• Physical techniques:– Absorption– Adsorption– Vacuuming– Washing
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Technical Decontamination Methods (2 of 3)
• Chemical degradation:– Dilution– Disinfection– Evaporation– Neutralization– Solidification– Sterilization
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Technical Decontamination Methods (3 of 3)
• Isolation and disposal
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Absorption (1 of 4)
• Spongy material– Natural soil– Sawdust– Synthetic loose absorbent
• Mixes with liquid hazardous material
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Absorption (2 of 4)
Spongy materials are used to absorb liquid hazardous materials.
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Absorption (3 of 4)
• Effective only on flat surfaces
• Absorbent materials must be disposed of after use
• Limited application to decontaminating personnel– Shuffle pit to clean boots (next slide)
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Absorption (4 of 4)
Absorption can be used for decontaminating equipment and property.
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Adsorption (1 of 2)
• Contaminant adheres to surface of added material– Sand– Activated carbon
• Does not combine with it as in absorption
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Adsorption (2 of 2)
Sand can be used as an adsorbent.
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Vacuuming
• Removal of dusts, particles, some liquids
• Sucks them up into container
• Filtering system prevents reentry into atmosphere
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Washing
• Effective, yet simple
• Scrub with brush or sponge, and rinse
• Removes solvents from:– PPE– Tools– Equipment
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Chemical Degradation
• Breaks down chemical substance
• Natural or artificial process
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Dilution
• Generally uses plain water
• Fast and economical
• Preferred for– Gross decontamination– Technical decontamination– Mass decontamination
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Disinfection
• Destroys disease-carrying microorganisms
• Will not destroy spores (like anthrax)
• Requires expert advice
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Evaporation
• Natural form of chemical degradation
• Lets substance evaporate on its own
• No intervention by responders
• Must be well-thought-out decision
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Neutralization
• Used to minimize corrosivity of acid or base– Weak base to neutralize acid– Weak acid to neutralize base
• Never used for personnel decontamination
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Solidification
• Causes hazardous liquid to become solid
• Usually cement-based products are used
• Controls spill, but still must be disposed of
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Sterilization
• Decontaminates biological agents
• Uses heat, chemical means, or radiation
• Kills all microorganisms, including spores (anthrax)
• Not intended for use on responders
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Isolation and Disposal
• Remove contaminated items from site
• Transport to treatment, storage, or disposal facility
• Use for items that cannot be properly decontaminated
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Technical Decontamination Process (1 of 5)
• Takes place within predesignated corridor
• Located within the warm zone
• Set up before entry team enters hot zone
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Technical Decontamination Process (2 of 5)
A decontamination corridor should be established prior to responders entering the hot zone.
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Technical Decontamination Process (3 of 5)
• PPE worn by decontamination team– No more than one level below what entry
team wears– May be same level as entry team
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Technical Decontamination Process (4 of 5)
• Decontamination corridor may include– Collection devices to capture water used– Portable bug sprayers to apply water– Sponges and long-handled scrub brushes– Buckets– Tarps
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Technical Decontamination Process (5 of 5)
• No single “right way” to do everything
• Try to keep experience unstressful for victims
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Performing Technical Decontamination (1 of 3)
• Leaving hot zone, place oversuits and tools in drop area
• Proceed to gross decontamination
• Technical decontamination – One to three wash-and-rinse stations– Only one responder in a station at a time
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Performing Technical Decontamination (2 of 3)
• After being scrubbed, chemical-protective equipment can be removed– SCBA face piece or respirator stays in place
• Remove outer gloves
• In different area– Remove helmets, respiratory protection
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Performing Technical Decontamination (3 of 3)
• Remove inner gloves
• Don clean clothes– Disposable cotton coveralls– Hospital gowns– Hospital booties, slippers, flip-flops
• Proceed to medical evaluation
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Evaluating Effectiveness of Technical Decontamination
• Done at end of decontamination line
• Based on nature of contaminant
• Examples:– pH paper to detect corrosive residue– Photo-ionization detector (PID)– Radiation detector
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Reports and Documentation (1 of 2)
• Completed by person responsible for decontamination corridor
• Part of overall documentation process for incident
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Reports and Documentation (2 of 2)
• Include:– Names of all persons processed– Information on released substance– Potential health effects– Description of decontamination activities– Breaches of PPE noted
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Summary (1 of 2)
• Match decontamination to properties of released substance
• Gross decontamination takes place before technical decontamination
• Establish and use decontamination corridor in warm zone
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• Remove PPE from person; don’t take person out of PPE
• After decontamination, personnel should proceed to medical station for evaluation
• Use detection techniques to evaluate effectiveness
• Document the incident
Summary (2 of 2)
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