1. 8
Mission-Specific
Competencies:
Technical
Decontamination

2. 8
Objectives (1 of 5)
• Plan a response by selecting a technical
decontamination process that will
minimize the hazard
• Identify and describe the limitations and
advantages of each of the technical
decontamination methods

3. 8
Objectives (2 of 5)
• Describe the technical decontamination
process
• Identify the supplies and equipment
needed for technical decontamination

4. 8
Objectives (3 of 5)
• Identify precautionary measures,
equipment, and procedures for handling
anything or anyone brought to the
decontamination corridor
• Identify role of operations level responder
assigned to technical decontamination

5. 8
Objectives (4 of 5)
• Identify procedures for determining
whether the items have been fully
decontaminated
• Identify the importance, steps, and
requirements of maintaining records

6. 8
Objectives (5 of 5)
• Identify precautionary measures,
equipment, and procedures for processing
evidence during technical
decontamination

7. 8
Decontamination (1 of 2)
• Physical or chemical process
• Reduces and prevents spread of
contaminants

8. 8
Decontamination (2 of 2)
• Spread of contaminants is by
– People
– Animals
– The environment
– Equipment

9. 8
Emergency Decontamination
• Used in potentially life-threatening
situations
• Mass decontamination is a way of
performing

10. 8
Gross Decontamination
• Takes place within controlled
decontamination corridor
• Consists of pre-wash before technical
decontamination

11. 8
Technical Decontamination
• More thorough process than gross
decontamination
• Often involves:
– Cleaning solutions
– Scrub brushes

12. 8
Special Decontamination Situations
• It may be necessary to decontaminate:
– Search canines
– Criminal suspects
– Firearms
– Specialized equipment
– Pieces of evidence

13. 8
Technical Decontamination Details
(1 of 2)
• More thorough than gross
decontamination (its predecessor step)
• Decontamination team
– May use water or special cleaning solution
– Dry decontamination removes and disposes
of PPE

14. 8
Technical Decontamination Details
(2 of 2)
Technical decontamination is a more thorough cleaning process
that often involves the use of brushes and chemical-specific
cleaning solutions.

15. 8
Technical Decontamination
Methods (1 of 3)
• Physical techniques:
– Absorption
– Adsorption
– Vacuuming
– Washing

16. 8
Technical Decontamination
Methods (2 of 3)
• Chemical degradation:
– Dilution
– Disinfection
– Evaporation
– Neutralization
– Solidification
– Sterilization

17. 8
Technical Decontamination
Methods (3 of 3)
• Isolation and disposal

18. 8
Absorption (1 of 4)
• Spongy material
– Natural soil
– Sawdust
– Synthetic loose absorbent
• Mixes with liquid hazardous material

19. 8
Absorption (2 of 4)
Spongy materials are used to absorb liquid hazardous materials.

20. 8
Absorption (3 of 4)
• Effective only on flat surfaces
• Absorbent materials must be disposed of
after use
• Limited application to decontaminating
personnel
– Shuffle pit to clean boots (next slide)

21. 8
Absorption (4 of 4)
Absorption can be used for decontaminating equipment and
property.

22. 8
Adsorption (1 of 2)
• Contaminant adheres to surface of added
material
– Sand
– Activated carbon
• Does not combine with it as in absorption

23. 8
Adsorption (2 of 2)
Sand can be used as an adsorbent.

24. 8
Vacuuming
• Removal of dusts, particles, some liquids
• Sucks them up into container
• Filtering system prevents reentry into
atmosphere

25. 8
Washing
• Effective, yet simple
• Scrub with brush or sponge, and rinse
• Removes solvents from:
– PPE
– Tools
– Equipment

26. 8
Chemical Degradation
• Breaks down chemical substance
• Natural or artificial process

27. 8
Dilution
• Generally uses plain water
• Fast and economical
• Preferred for
– Gross decontamination
– Technical decontamination
– Mass decontamination

28. 8
Disinfection
• Destroys disease-carrying
microorganisms
• Will not destroy spores (like anthrax)
• Requires expert advice

29. 8
Evaporation
• Natural form of chemical degradation
• Lets substance evaporate on its own
• No intervention by responders
• Must be well-thought-out decision

30. 8
Neutralization
• Used to minimize corrosivity of acid or
base
– Weak base to neutralize acid
– Weak acid to neutralize base
• Never used for personnel decontamination

31. 8
Solidification
• Causes hazardous liquid to become solid
• Usually cement-based products are used
• Controls spill, but still must be disposed of

32. 8
Sterilization
• Decontaminates biological agents
• Uses heat, chemical means, or radiation
• Kills all microorganisms, including spores
(anthrax)
• Not intended for use on responders

33. 8
Isolation and Disposal
• Remove contaminated items from site
• Transport to treatment, storage, or
disposal facility
• Use for items that cannot be properly
decontaminated

34. 8
Technical Decontamination
Process (1 of 5)
• Takes place within predesignated corridor
• Located within the warm zone
• Set up before entry team enters hot zone

35. 8
Technical Decontamination
Process (2 of 5)
A decontamination corridor should be established prior to
responders entering the hot zone.

36. 8
Technical Decontamination
Process (3 of 5)
• PPE worn by decontamination team
– No more than one level below what entry
team wears
– May be same level as entry team

37. 8
Technical Decontamination
Process (4 of 5)
• Decontamination corridor may include
– Collection devices to capture water used
– Portable bug sprayers to apply water
– Sponges and long-handled scrub brushes
– Buckets
– Tarps

38. 8
Technical Decontamination
Process (5 of 5)
• No single “right way” to do everything
• Try to keep experience unstressful for
victims

39. 8
Performing Technical
Decontamination (1 of 3)
• Leaving hot zone, place oversuits and
tools in drop area
• Proceed to gross decontamination
• Technical decontamination
– One to three wash-and-rinse stations
– Only one responder in a station at a time

40. 8
Performing Technical
Decontamination (2 of 3)
• After being scrubbed, chemical-protective
equipment can be removed
– SCBA face piece or respirator stays in place
• Remove outer gloves
• In different area
– Remove helmets, respiratory protection

41. 8
Performing Technical
Decontamination (3 of 3)
• Remove inner gloves
• Don clean clothes
– Disposable cotton coveralls
– Hospital gowns
– Hospital booties, slippers, flip-flops
• Proceed to medical evaluation

42. 8
Evaluating Effectiveness of
Technical Decontamination
• Done at end of decontamination line
• Based on nature of contaminant
• Examples:
– pH paper to detect corrosive residue
– Photo-ionization detector (PID)
– Radiation detector

43. 8
Reports and Documentation (1 of 2)
• Completed by person responsible for
decontamination corridor
• Part of overall documentation process for
incident

44. 8
Reports and Documentation (2 of 2)
• Include:
– Names of all persons processed
– Information on released substance
– Potential health effects
– Description of decontamination activities
– Breaches of PPE noted

45. 8
Summary (1 of 2)
• Match decontamination to properties of
released substance
• Gross decontamination takes place before
technical decontamination
• Establish and use decontamination
corridor in warm zone

46. 8
Summary (2 of 2)
• Remove PPE from person; don’t take
person out of PPE
• After decontamination, personnel should
proceed to medical station for evaluation
• Use detection techniques to evaluate
effectiveness
• Document the incident