MASS CASUALTY DECONTAMINATION

Certain hazmat incidents results in large numbers of patients being exposed (or believing they were exposed) to a chemical agent. In this situation, responding personnel will find it necessary to implement proper triage to prioritize patients' entry through the decontamination process, or to quickly expand the the decontamination system to clean more patients simultaneously. Gaining quick control of the escaping crowd andinitiating immediate decontamination procedures (if indicated) is essential to minimize secondary contamination, morbidity, mortality, and panic
Mass decontamination planning should also address issues such as non-English-speaking patients, caring for physically impaired patients (e.g., non ambulatory, blind, wheelchair-bound), and large numbers of worried but well victims.