Decontamination Procedures - Emergency Decontamination Procedures

There is always the possibility of a site requiring emergency decontamination. Therefore, a site must always establish emergency decontamination procedures.

The primary concern in an emergency is preventing the loss of life or severe injury to site personnel. Measures to save a life, such as medical treatment, should take precedence over decontamination procedures until the victim is stabilized. It is therefore important that personnel understand when they can and cannot perform decontamination in an emergency situation.

Decontamination can be performed in an emergency under the following circumstances:

• If the site can perform decontamination without interfering with essential life-saving techniques or first aid
• If a worker has been contaminated with an extremely toxic or corrosive material that could cause severe injury or loss of life

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