According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the "goal of whole-body external decontamination is to decrease external contamination to a level of no more than two times background radiation level." Evaluate the effectiveness of the radiation decontamination process by performing a complete radiation body survey before, during and after whole body decontamination. Call for help immediately upon discovering radiation contamination.
Prepare the Victim
Undress the victim, or have him or her undress. Start this process at the top of the body and work your way to the bottom including the shoes. The Department of Health and Human Services says that "up to 90% of the contamination can be eliminated by completing this first step."
Place personal property found with, and removed from, the radiation victim in an airtight plastic container. Label each container, noting the name, date, time and location to simplify the job of the forensic team. These items will not be returned to the victim; rather they will be properly disposed of after the investigation.
Whole body decontamination is completed in two wash cycles. The radiation body survey will tell you where you most need to concentrate your efforts. Use lukewarm, soapy water (neutral pH) rather than hot or cold water to wash the victim's body. Cold water traps radioactive material by closing pores and may create conditions for resulting in hypothermia for the patient. Hot water promotes the absorption of the radioactive material by dilating the blood vessels and increasing circulation. Another concern with hot water is thermal burns.
Once the water is poured over the victim, it is considered contaminated. Do not reuse it on the patient or subsequent patients. Complete this process twice, using clean water each time. Avoid vigorous scrubbing, as it will damage the protective properties of the skin and spread the radiation contamination. The outermost dermal layer may trap some radioactivity, but it will dissipate as the skin sloughs off over about two weeks.
Radiation Body Survey
Using a Geiger-Mueller detector, systematically survey the entire body for radiation contamination. The probe should move over the body no more than 2 inches per second. Have the victim stand up, feet hip-distance apart, arms extended to the side with palms facing up and fingers straight. Wave the wand over all parts of the body while maintaining a distance of approximately ½ inch. Use long, sweeping motions to detect radiation in the extremities and broad horizontal strokes to survey the torso. Start at the top of the head and survey the entire body, both front and back. Important parts of the body that are often skipped when performing a radiation body survey are the top of the head, the face and the soles of the feet, but they should not be skipped. Including the readings from these areas is integral to an accurate survey.
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