Secondary Contamination of Medical Personnel, Equipment, and Facilities Resulting From Hazardous Materials Events, 2003–2006

Abstract

Adequate preplanning and drills, proper decontamination procedures, good field-to-hospital communication, appropriate use of personal protective equipment, and effective training can help prevent injuries of medical personnel and contamination of transport vehicles and medical facilities.

Hair drug testing of children suspected of exposure to the manufacture of methamphetamine

“…7 Emergency department (ED) personnel have reported adverse health events after caring for patients involved in MA lab mishaps that were not decontaminated prior to arrival in the ED. 26,27 These issues reinforce the importance of identifying potentially hazardous exposures occurring in the community beyond the obvious goal of identifying children whose caregivers may be in need of services related to substance abuse disorders. Proactive identification of children living in a drug-endangered environment is limited by caregivers' reluctance to provide a history of drug use or production and by imprecision in urine drug testing methodologies.…”

Fatal occupational selenomethionine poisoning with hazmat response: a case report

“…Secondary contamination of ED personnel and ED facilities is a risk from self-presentation by symptomatic patients after a chemical exposure without prior decontamination. This secondary contamination can lead to staff injuries, and costly evacuations or even closures [2,3]. Staff education and training, regarding proper decontamination techniques including selfprotection with appropriate personal protective equipment, should be delivered on a routine basis.…”

“…Occupational injuries involving chemical exposures are common [1]. However, occupational chemical incidents that contaminate emergency personnel and emergency departments are infrequent [2,3]. Larson et al describe four events over a 6-year period in which medical facilities were either shut down or evacuated due to secondary contamination [2].…”

Personal Protective Equipment and Decontamination of Adults and Children

“…This cannot be emphasized enough, because secondary contamination resulting in adverse health effects in first responders and in health care workers caring for HAZMAT victims has been reported frequently in the literature. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] In addition, proper decontamination prevents off-gassing of chemicals from contaminated patients that can contaminate the hospital and render the ED inoperable. 20,25,27 There is always the temptation to begin treatment to contaminated victims who arrive in extremis, without decontaminating the victim.…”

“…[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] In addition, proper decontamination prevents off-gassing of chemicals from contaminated patients that can contaminate the hospital and render the ED inoperable. 20,25,27 There is always the temptation to begin treatment to contaminated victims who arrive in extremis, without decontaminating the victim. However, this must be avoided unless proper protections are in place, because the first priority must be to keep the health care worker safe from becoming ill owing to secondary contamination.…”