ABSTRACT
In a mass casualty circumstance, the number of injured victims will exceed the number that may be cared for by the health systems operating under normal conditions. Hazardous materials response teams are comprised of technicians cross-trained to perform both the rescue and the medical management aspects of victim care. Depending on the nature of the hazardous chemical disaster, corpses can either be decontaminated at the scene by hosing them down or they can be enclosed in plastic at the scene and removed to the local mortuary. All personnel handling corpses must be adequately informed of and protected against contamination. Decontamination of disaster victims is normally performed by immediately stripping and washing them down with copious amounts of water. Emergency life-saving procedures take precedence over any other decontamination. Chemical emergency responders must make every effort to reduce victim’s absorption of hazardous chemicals.
