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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