Rethinking Decon: Dilution Is Not the Solution
This class offers the latest advances in dry decontamination technology while facilitating discussion about their efficacy in modern hazmat responses. Flushing with copious amounts of water has long been the go-to technique for decontamination operations in hazmat responses. Just as the industry has generally deemed the use of level A personal protective equipment as excessive outside of acid-gas incidents, so must it rethink its idea of water-based decontamination. The emerging issue of mass violence and the evolving nature of terrorism are driving this paradigm shift. Technologies that emerged from postfire decontamination efforts and advances in chemical warfare, primarily wipes and neutralizing lotions, provide responders with faster, easier, and more practical options.