Decontamination of site

N. Marmiroli et al (eds.), Advanced Science and Technology for Biological Decontamination of Sites Affected by Chemical and Radiological Nuclear Agents, 03—14. 2007 Springer. 

Fresh solutions of diluted household bleach are also considered appropriate for disinfection of environmental surfaces and for decontamination of sites following initial wiping up of blood or other potentially infectious materials. Contact time for bleach is generally considered to be the time it takes the product to air dry. 

At Site I, personnel and equipment decontamination procedures were not monitored for their effectiveness in accordance with HAZ-WOPER requirements. The Site I subcontractor did not have provisions for particulate sampling, evaluating exposure to pesticides and herbicides, or evaluating the effectiveness of site zone boundaries and personnel decontamination procedures. Additionally, monitoring had not been conducted to verify that decontamination was not necessary for employees who leave the exclusion zone and enter a clean zone without undergoing decontamination. 

The SSAHP developed by the Site G contractor did not indicate that the contractors routinely conducted job- or task-specific hazard analyses. In addition, the SSAHP did not specify that PPE selection for jobs and tasks must be based on the analysis of the health hazards associated with each job. Eurthermore, the SSAHP contained no procedures for objectively determining the effectiveness of decontamination of personnel or equipment. The decontamination program required incineration of all materials that could not be readily decontaminated such materials were placed in labeled disposal containers. The program, however, did... 

Dev, H., Bridges, J.E., and Sresty, G.C., Decontamination of hazardous waste substances from spills and uncontrolled waste sites by radio frequency in situ heating, in Hazardous Material Spills Conference Proceedings, Government Institutes, Rockville, MD, 1984. 

Develop effective ways for mitigation of chemical, radiological, and biological terrorist attacks, and devise ways to decontaminate the sites of such attacks. 

Before exiting the contaminated area on-site decontamination should be performed to the injured persons and self-decontamination of rescue units. 

The primary mission of the Decontamination Element is to turn chemical/biological victims into patients through mass decontamination procedures by establishing a site capable of providing initial and sustained operational decontamination of Force personnel (rescue workers), ambulatory, and non-ambulatory patients. The Decontamination Element also handles decontamination of CBIRF members, attachments, vehicles, and equipment that have entered the incident site controls access into and out of the incident site handles processing of surety material and evidence while maintaining chain of custody through the site and handles limited area decontamination of the incident site. 

After all casualties and Force personnel are decontaminated, the site will either be torn down or converted to an equipment decontamination site. All items that cannot be decontaminated will be bagged and placed aside for future disposal. Starting at the dirty end of the site, all items to be decontaminated will be sprayed down with 5 percent HTH decontamination solution. Working from the dirty end towards the clean end, items will be passed down the line to the contamination control line (CCL) and be rinsed with clean water. Then, the item will be checked with detection equipment for contamination. If the equipment is clean, it will be passed across the CCL. 

Exiting the site. Following completion of site characterization, the site is secured and personnel exit the site and undergo any necessary decontamination. 

Decontaminating a site where chemical agents have been applied is its own unique challenge. At a 1998 NATO conference in Bucharest, military decontamination was discussed and examined. Most of the military applications of decontamination were primarily for the equipment and materials, and it did not, at that time, consider any civilian reoccupation of the contaminated battle sites. I had the opportunity to learn some other interesting things about decontamination activities. 

An application well-suited for IMS is the decommissioning and cleanup of sites where extensive manufacturing of explosives has taken place in the last century and where widespread contamination of soils and waters has occurred [74]. Decontamination of model metal scrap artificially contaminated with TNT and of decommissioned mortar rounds stiU containing explosives residue was followed by sampling surfaces with analysis by a portable mobility spectrometer. Mixed anaerobic microbial populations of bioslurries were employed in decontamination of scrap and the mortar rounds, and the IMS analyzer was seen as a sensitive field... 

The skills and knowledge of those in all chentical and chentical engineering disciplines are needed for these processes. Additionally, collaboration among the disciplines must be cultivated—especially between researchers who synthesize new chenticals and materials and those who develop new processes to manufacture them. There must be parallel integration of fields, so that discoveries quickly lead to useful technology. In a terrorist attack, a quick response is essential, whether it be decontamination of a site or scale-up of drug or vaccine production. 

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