Secondary contamination cyanides

Hospital staff working in an enclosed area can be secondarily contaminated by cyanide vapor off-gassing from heavily soaked clothing or skin, or from toxic vomit. Avoid dermal contact with cyanide-contaminated victims or with gastric contents of persons who may have ingested cyanide-containing materials (patients do not usually pose secondary contamination risks after contaminated clothing is removed and the skin is washed. 

HCN is lighter than air and has a long half-life in air. However, in open spaces, HCN is rapidly dispersed and is diluted to nontoxie concentrations. Cyanide does not bind to soil or plant material, but can mix with water. Contaminated water can be treated with ozone, hydrogen peroxide, or ealeium/sodium hypochlorite bleach. Rescue personnel should wear boots, gloves, goggles, Ml protective clothes, and a self-contained positive pressure breathing apparatus as the potential for secondary contamination is high (AAR, 2000). 

Appropriate PPE must be worn by members of emergency services treating casualties with suspected cyanide exposure. Secondary contamination is unlikely. 

Except for the last procedure, these have been tested many times. Most of the thermal treatment plants - which are mainly designed as central facilities and used in The Netherlands and the USA - are based either on the direct or indirect procedure. In general, thermal plants are used to clean soil masses contaminated with the following substances contaminants based on mineral oil and pit-coal secondary products cresols residues of synthetic dyes polyaromatics complexed cyanides and contaminants based on halogentated (chlorinated) hydrocarbons, including PCB s, dibenzo-dioxines/dibenzofuranes, DDT and other insecticides. 

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