Guidelines for Cold Weather Mass Decontamination During a Terrorist Chemical Agent Incident, Revision 1
Abstract
The fiscal year (FY) 1997 Defense Authorization Bill (P.L. 104-201, Sept 23, 1996), commonly called the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici legislation, funded the U.S. Domestic Preparedness initiative. Under this initiative, the Department of Defense (DoD) was charged with enhancing the capability of federal, state, and local emergency responders in incidents involving nuclear, biological, and chemical terrorism. The U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM), Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, was assigned the mission of developing an Improved Response Program (IRP) to identify problems and develop solutions to the tasks associated with responding to such incidents. The Chemical Weapons (CW) IRP was established to deal specifically with terrorists' use of chemical weapons. This report provides guidance on cold weather mass decontamination procedures for emergency responders. All methods discussed in this report are potential options under extreme circumstances. As the ambient air temperature decreases, some wet decontamination processes, while potentially life-saving, present risks that must be balanced against the hazards posed by the chemical agents. The guidelines presented in this document are intended to provide responders with mass decontamination options based on decreasing ambient air temperatures. These recommendations were developed with input from cold weather experts and rescue personnel. Responders should use whatever resources are available in time of need and should select the fastest method available because decontamination is most effective when performed immediately. The key to successful decontamination is to use the fastest approach that will cause the least harm and do the most good for the majority of the people.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA435228