Decontamination personal self

Broadly speaking, the most important factors in the safe use of economic poisons are adequate information and appropriate care by all persons having any contact whatsoever with the poisons. Safety may be promoted but not ensured by voluntary control, such as the self-discipline of industry by legal control, such as regulation of sale, labeling, and distribution and by economic control, such as the refusal of food processors to buy from farmers or dealers food containing excessive residues for which no adequate method of decontamination is known. 

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

C. Decontamination (see p 46). Caution. Rescuers should use self-contained breathing apparatus and wear protective clothing to avoid personal exposure. 

Breathing phosgene causes pulmonary edema, which may be characterized by a delayed onset. Tbe onset of pulmonary edema is a function of both concentration and length of exposure. Typically exposure above 50 ppm-minutes can lead to pulmonary edema (67). Exposed persons must be removed immediately from the contaminated area and decontaminated. Rescue workers should wear self-contained breathing apparatus. Injured persons should not be allowed any physical activity, and a physician should be consulted immediately. It is advisable to keep an exposed individual under the observation of a physician for 6-24 h, depending on the circumstances of exposure. In some instances this can be accomplished at the plant medical facility, or the exposed individual may require hospitalization. 

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