Essay On Decontamination

The process of removing or neutralizing a hazard from the environment, property, or life form is decontamination. The purpose of decontamination is to prevent further harm and increase the likelihood of recovering of a person or restoration of property exposed to a hazardous substance (Maniscalco & Christen, 2011). It is essential that decontamination is quick, versatile, effective, and large capacity (Maniscalco & Christen, 2011). Decontamination not only prevents victims from absorbing additional harmful materials into their system, it also prevents cross contamination with health care workers and uncontaminated victims (Maniscalco & Christen, 2011). When setting up a decontamination site, there are many things to consider. THe most important thing is the location of the site. The decontamination site should be up wind from the hot zone (United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 2017). It is preferable if the area is uphill, with good drainage and is easily accessible for first responders (HHS, 2017). WHile it is not mandatory in an emergency situation, attempts should be made to contain and dispose of runoff water (Maniscalco & Christen, 2011). Emergency managers should take into account the material the ground is made of and its porosity (Maniscalco & Christen, 2011). …show more content…
However, the majority of decontamination will use water. The availability of an adequate water supply is an important factor when setting up a decontamination area. Access to a fire hydrant would be preferred source of water. This would allow for the use of fire trucks to create a ladder pipe decontamination system (HHS, 2017). This is accomplished by having two fire trucks park parallel 20 feet apart and creating a corridor of water using hoses and deck gun (HHS, 2017). An additional ladder truck can be used to provide high volume, low pressure water from above (HHS,