versed in emergency first-aid care than those used formonitoring and for rescue teams, but they need not betrained in radiation monitoring.SORTING.—After emergency lifesavingprocedures have been attended to, casualties from theclean emergency treatment station should be takendirectly to the sorting station, and those from thecontaminated treatment station should be taken to thedecontamination station. Casualties not requiringimmediate emergency treatment should be taken orsent from the monitoring station directly to the sortingstation or to the decontamination station, whichever isappropriate. The decontamination station should beset up to take, hold, and dispose of all contaminatedclothing and to supply clean replacement clothing afterthe casualty has been decontaminated. Monitoringequipment will also be required, as will showering andwashing facilities, and some capability for surgical(e.g., wound) decontamination when necessary.CleaningEarly removal of radioactive “contamination” willreduce radiation burns, radiation dosage, and thechances of inhaling or ingesting radioactive material.There are two rules to be remembered in the removal ofradioactive contamination:Contamination is easily spread, so “spot”cleaning must be attended to before generaldecontamination procedures are started.Removal of radioactive contamination is bestaccomplished with soap and water.SPOT CLEANING.—Cotton swabs or gauzemay be used to decontaminate moist areas. Usegummed tapes to decontaminate dry areas. If, after thefirst cleansing, decontamination is inadequate, theprocess should be repeated three to five times. Ifcontamination persists, a preparation consisting of amixture of 50 percent detergent and 50 percentcornmeal, with enough water added to make a paste,should be tried. The contaminated area should bescrubbed (preferably with a soft-bristle surgical brush)for 5 minutes, then rinsed.GENERAL CLEANING.—After the hot spotshave been removed, the second step is to shower withsoap and water. Scrub the entire body, including thehair and nails. After the shower, monitor again; if anycontamination remains, repeat spot cleaning andshower procedures. If the hair is contaminated,shampoo it several times. If it becomes apparent thatshampooing has not removed the radioactive material,cut the hair as close to the scalp as necessary to removethe radioactive material.If areas become tender from excessive washing, itmay be necessary to restore some of the skin oils bygently rubbing in a small amount of lanolin or ordinaryhand or face cream. This will soothe the skin andprepare it for further decontamination if additionalsteps are necessary. Decontamination should becontinued until the radioactivity has been reduced tothe “safe” level set by the responsible MedicalDepartment representative. Wounds or body parts thatresist decontamination may have to be covered and thepatient referred to a higher-level medical treatmentfacility.UNCONTAMINATED AREAS.—Protect anyuncontaminated cut, scratch, or wound with animpermeable tape or other suitable material whiledecontaminating the rest of the body. If a wound isalready contaminated, the simplest and least drasticdecontamination method available should be triedfirst, always by trained medical personnel. First, thewound should be carefully bathed or flushed withsterile water, and a reasonable amount of bleedingshould be encouraged. Following decontamination,standard triage procedures are used.Additional information pertaining to the initialm a n a g e m e n t o f i r r a d i a t e d o r r a d i o a c t i v e l ycontaminated individuals may be obtained from thecurrent version of BUMEDINST 6470.10, InitialM a n a g e m e n t o f I r r a d i a t e d o r R a d i o a c t i v e l yContaminated Personnel.Contaminated Material and SuppliesRadiological material may be removed but notdestroyed. Water then becomes a special problem.Distillation frees water of radioactive material,providing emergency drinking water. Water comingfrom an underground source usually is free fromradioactive materials and is therefore usable; however,water coming from a reservoir that has to depend upona surface watershed for its source may not be usable.Fortunately, regular water-treatment processes thatinclude coagulation, sedimentation, and filtration willremove most fallout material, and if the reservoir watercan be properly treated, it will be usable again. But forsafety’s sake, never drink untested water.SUPPLIES AND FOOD.—Supplies and foodcan be protected from residual radiation by storage indust-proof containers. Although the outside of the8-17
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