Colom Newbie

Decontamination is the method used for removing contamination or the possibility of contamination through cleansing. It is an arrangement of processes and includes cleansing, disinfection, and/or sterilisation. It can be carried out by physical means, by chemical neutralisation or by detoxification.

The most important thing to remember about decontamination of any chemical exposure is that decontamination should be done within the first two minutes, right after the exposure. Decontamination of casualties is always an enormous task. The process requires dedication of the teams, and their undivided attention and time. Even with appropriate planning and training, the requirements demand a significant contribution of resources.

Decontamination of the skin must be the primary concern, but decontamination of eyes and wounds should also be done when ever necessary. Personal decontamination is decontamination of one's self; casualty decontamination refers to the decontamination of casualties, which can be more than one; and the term personnel decontamination usually refers to decontamination of non-casualties. A self-decontamination and early action by a person will be the difference between survival and death (or severe injury). Good training always saves lives.

Biochemical refers to harmful microorganisms (bacteria, viruses etc), endotoxins, organic matter such as humic acid, fulvic acids, bio chemical insect killers, lipoproteins, polysaccharides and different kinds of remains and antibiotics. Biochemical decontamination is the sterilisation or disinfection of contaminated articles, making them safe to use and reducing micro-organisms to a level of safety. It is done by both physical and biological methods.

Physical methods of decontamination are concerned with rendering biological agents harmless through means such as radiation or heat. Photo-biochemical disinfection can also be used, which uses solar UV radiation that reaches the earth and has certain disinfectant properties, but is hard to standardize.

Biological methods on the other hand make use of disinfectants to render biological and organic agents harmless. Skin contact should be treated with soap or by decontaminate water source, using a brush to ensure absolute separation from the skin, and cleaned with plenty of water. Calcium Hypochlorite (Bleach) or an Iodine solution can be used to rinse out the inner surfaces of infected spaces.

Chemical Decontamination consists of the use of catalytic or reactive chemicals to neutralise contamination by chemical agents such as nerve agents, aerosols, heavy metals, nitrogen based fertilisers, insecticides, etc. Mostly, the three kinds of chemical decontaminants are Microemulsions, strong alkalis and oxidation. Microemulsions are stable organic compounds. They are the amalgamation of oil, water, surfactants and co-surfactants. When a chemical agent gets in touch with the system, it is somewhat dissolved in the organic phase of the microemulsion. The agent can afterwards react with the water soluble decontaminant in the organic part.

Strong Bases such as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide etc make free ions in water and are hydrolysing agents. Sodium Hydroxide is helpful in the detoxification of agents where alkaline hydrolysis is involved. The most considerable type is oxidative chlorination with compounds such as Hypochlorites of calcium and sodium having active chlorine for decontamination of skin and equipment and as sterile agents.