DECONTAMINATION
Dr Donald W. Walsh on the golden rules for responding to large-scale incidents
... what are the first things you would do responding to this incident? What are the anticipated resources you are
going to need to manage this event? How will medical triaging of all the people
contaminated and not contaminated be managed? How and when do you decontaminate and
treat all the victims, especially your fallen first responders? These are just a few of the complex
challenges you will face within seconds responding to a CWA event identified above. Until recently, domestic first responders would train if a terrorist attack occurred by relying on traditional decontamination procedures using water, soap, or bleach to decontaminate themselves and the victims. Medical treatments and appropriate decontamination products and medical devices would be limited. For today’s highly trained first responders, US Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials recognise the necessity to distribute CWA decontamination equipment and medical antidotes to domestic first responders.
Clean skins An example of these new technologies and
Incident hot zone Dr. Donald W. Walsh
resource systems are RSDL, (Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion) and the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). RSDL is a patented, broad-spectrum skin decontamination lotion that neutralises and removes CWA agents, for example, GA (tabun), GB (sarin), GD (soman), GF (cyclohexyl sarin), VX (nerve agent), HD Mustard) as in our training scenario, and T-2 Toxin.
The product’s sponge-based applicator
technology provides decontamination and removal of CWA from first responders and victims. RSDL decontaminates through physical and nucleophilic reaction, changing the CWA into a non-toxic form in less than two minutes. Once RSDL neutralises the agent, it leaves a harmless residue that can be rinsed in the second phase of decontamination prior to treatment. Under the management of the US Centers
for Disease Control (CDC), the SNS has large quantities of medicine, antidotes, and medical supplies to protect the American public in cases of terrorist attack, flu outbreak, earthquakes, and disasters severe enough to cause local supplies to run out. Once Federal and local authorities agree that the SNS is needed, items are delivered to any state in the US in time for them to be effective. Each state has plans to receive and distribute
SNS medicine and medical supplies to local communities as quickly as possible. In many large urban cities, SNS stockpile pods are strategically placed within their communities for rapid deployment. The CDC manages larger-scale SNS deployments upon request and activation. In our training scenario, activation could take place for the first responders to appropriately decontaminate and treat the large number of CWA victims and first responders.
CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL & NUCLEAR WARFARE | 2012/02 | 61
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