Personnel clothing

Chemical Contamination The deposition of chemical agents of personnel, clothing, equipment, strictures, or areas. Chemical contamination mainly consists of liquid, solid particles, and vapor hazards. Vapor hazards are probably the most prevalent means of contaminating the environment, although they are not necessarily a contact hazard. 

Decontamination—The process of neutralizing or removing contaminants that have accumulated on personnel, clothing, and equipment. 

Personnel who handle phenol should wear protective clothing, safety goggles, and mbber gloves, depending on the working conditions and amount of phenol handled. 

Storage, Shipping, and Handling. Phosphoms pentachloride is in the EPA extreme ha2ardous substance Hst. It is treated as a dammable sohd, and containers in which it is stored or shipped must be affixed with a yellow acid label DOT UN No. 1806. In general, the pentachloride should be handled with the same precautions that are used with the trichloride. Protective clothing should be worn by workers handling the pentachloride and gas masks should be used when personnel are exposed to the vapors. 

The use of chemical agents in battie imposes a significant burden on troops because of the cumbersome nature of the protective clothing and the attendant heat load in hot climate situations. This factor alone imposes a burden on potential target personnel, lowering their effectiveness. U.S. troops in the 1991 Mideast war Desert Storm were provided with protective gear that did not deter them with regard to the outcome of the action. 

Personnel who must work in areas in which tritium contamination exceeds permitted levels are safeguarded by protective clothing, such as ventilated plastic suits. Detailed descriptions of laboratories suitable for manipulation of tritium can be found in Reference 9. 

Dipped Goods. Gloves with and without cloth support are a typical example. Unsupported appUcations involve specialty medical gloves and weather balloons. Eor CR to compete with less expensive natural mbber, it must provide added value. Natural mbber medical examination gloves contain proteins that can cause an allergic reaction in both patients and medical personnel. Polychloroprene gloves avoid the problem for those individuals, but are too expensive for general use. Natural mbber weather balloons have less lift than CR balloons and are rapidly attacked by ozone in the upper atmosphere. 

When the p>ertincnt factors have been considered and a decision has been reached to proceed with a rescue, all reasonable protective measures should be taken by rescuers. Response personnel should use positive pressure. Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) and aveiilable protective clothing while working as quickly as possible to minimize their exposure to the toxic materials. 

The ambulance vehicle should be prepared properly to receive and transport the victim and possibly the rescuers. All personnel involved in the transport should be properly dressed in protective clothing. The hospital should be advised immediately of the situation so prepzirations can be made to prevent contamination of emergency department. Bring all available information on the contaminant to the hospital. 

---