Airborne Agent

In the event that dermally hazardous toxins have been released, responders should wear a Level A protective ensemble. Also, because of the extreme hazard posed by toxin aerosols to any area of cut or lacerated skin, responders should wear a Level A protective ensemble whenever there is any potential for exposure to airborne agent. 

Decontamination of JACADS will require chemical, mechanical, and thermal processing. The removal of critical structural components and systems from buildings will have to be planned to ensure structural stability. Residuals of any of the agents processed at JACADS (HD, GB, and VX) may be exposed during disassembly activities. These residuals will be harmful to anyone in the immediate area If they are vaporized, airborne agent concentrations could be harmful, so decontamination procedures for equipment, waste streams, and building materials must ensure that agent residues are destroyed, and the destruction must be verified. 

A useful method of reconstructing potential worker exposure to agents can be to correlate data from records of shift duty, hazardous operations, toxic area entries, and area airborne agent concentrations. These correlations are only practical if the records are electronically archived and centrally searchable. 

Tice RR, Vogt TF, Costa DL. 1982. Cytogenetic effects of inhaled benzene in murine bone marrow. In Genotoxic effects of airborne agents. Environ Sci Res 25 257-275. 

Recommendation 5. The Army should maintain conservative chemical demilitarization exhaust stack and in-plant airborne agent exposure thresholds. If current limits for exposure to stockpiled chemical agents are further reduced, the Army should not further reduce existing monitoring thresholds unless chemical agent monitors can be made both more sensitive and more specific so that lower thresholds can be instituted without significant increases in false positive alarm rates or unless health risk assessments demonstrate that lower thresholds are necessary to protect workers or the public. 

Sensitivity requirements for the near-real-time automatic continuous air monitoring system (ACAMS) for airborne agent are demanding. This is because the allowable stack concentration and time-weighted-average levels used for exhaust stack and in-plant action levels are quite low and because the ACAMS alarms are currently set at 0.2 of the relevant action level. 

Microbial Mutagenicity of Nitroarenes, In Genetoxic Effects of Airborne Agents. Edited by R. Tice, D. L. Costa and K. M. Schaich, Plenum Press, New York, 1982, pp. 369-396. 

Dooms-Goossens AE, Debusschere KM, Gevers DM, Dupre KM, Degreef HJ, Loncke JP, Snauwaert JE (1986) Contact dermatitis caused by airborne agents. A review and case reports. J Am Acad Dermatol 15 1-10... 

Dooms-Goossens A, Debusschere KM, Gevers DM, et al. (1986) Contact dermatitis caused by airborne agents a review and case reports. J Am Acad Dermatol 15 1-10 Estlander T (1990) Occupational skin disease in Finland. Observations made during 1974-1988 at the Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki. Acta Derm Venereol Suppl (Stockh) 155 1-85 Estlander T, Jolanki R, Kanerva L (1986) Dermatitis and urticaria from rubber and plastic gloves. Contact Dermatitis 14 20-25 Eun HC, Park HB, Chun YH (1985) Occupational pitted keratolysis. Contact Dermatitis 12 122... 

A respirator is a protective facepiece, hood, or helmet that is designed to protect that wearer against a variety of harmful airborne agents. 

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