Self-Decontamination Becomes a Reality
By Jonathan D. Hurt, PhD & Eric Williams, PhD
Electronics, clothing, vehicle surfaces and weapons – what is the common denominator? Our soldiers need to touch the surfaces of these everyday items to carry out their
mission. If they can’t touch mission critical items, our forces are
at a disadvantage. One way to prevent warfighters from using
their equipment is the use of chemical warfare agents that deny
access to all the surfaces in a contaminated area. If a soldier
suspects that an item’s surface is contaminated with a chemical
agent, that soldier can’t directly touch it until it has been thoroughly decontaminated. If the soldier touches a contaminated
piece of equipment, the consequences can be dire not only for
the soldier, but additionally for the medical staff that treats him.
Twelve dead. Nine hundred and eighty injured with about
500 victims requiring hospital admission. Those were the di-
rect casualties of unprotected Tokyo civilians during the sarin
subway attacks in 1995. First responders and hospital staff
were still injured by secondary exposure even though they were
better prepared and forewarned that some type of poisoning
attack had occurred. The continued presence of agent on the
surfaces of subway equipment at the attack site, whether con-
tacted by touch or from off-gassing from those surfaces, caused
injury to 135 of nearly 1,400 first responders. One hundred
and ten (about 50%) of the hospital staff treating the injured
also reported symptoms (e.g., vision impairment, headaches)
of chemical weapons poisoning. Undoubtedly contributing to
the injuries of the medical care providers was secondary contact
with contaminated items (clothes, bags, phones, etc.) that trav-
eled with the victims.
42 | Coatings World
www.coatingsworld.com
July 2013
