What Is The Difference Between Biochemical And Chemical Decontamination?
Go to: Previous Article Next Article
Decontamination is the process of removing contamination or the possibility of contamination through cleansing. It is a combination of processes and includes cleaning, disinfection, and/or sterilization. It can be done by physical means, by chemical neutralization or by detoxification.
The primary thing to remember about decontamination of any chemical exposure is that decontamination should be done within the first two minutes, soon after the exposure. Decontamination of wounded is always a challenging task. The process demands devotion of the squad, and their complete attention and time. Even with suitable planning and guidance, the needs require an important contribution of resources.
Decontamination of the skin must be the foremost concern, but decontamination of eyes and wounds should also be done when ever needed. Personal decontamination is decontamination of one's self; casualty decontamination depicts the decontamination of the victims, which can be more than one; and the term personnel decontamination normally refers to decontamination of non-casualties. A self-decontamination and immediate action by a person will be the difference between survival and casualty (or severe injury). Good training always secures lives.
Biochemical refers to harmful microbes (bacteria, viruses etc), endotoxins, organic matter such as humic acid, fulvic acids, bio chemical pesticides, lipoproteins, polysaccharides and several kinds of residues and antibiotics. Biochemical distillation is the sterilisation or disinfection of infected items, making them harmless to use and taking micro-organisms to a level of safety. It is done by both physical and biological methods.
Physical methods of decontamination are associated with rendering biological agents safe through means such as radiation or heat. Photo-biochemical disinfections can also be applied, which uses solar UV radiation that reaches the ground and has certain sterilising properties, but is a bit difficult to standardise.
Biological methods on the other hand use disinfectants to render biological and organic agents harmless. Skin exposure should be treated by soap or by decontaminating water source, using a brush to ensure complete separation from the skin, and rinsed with large amounts of water. Calcium Hypochlorite (Bleach) or an Iodine solution can be used to decontaminate interior surfaces of infected spaces.
Chemical Decontamination consists of the use of catalytic or reactive chemicals to neutralise contamination by chemical agents such as nerve agents, aerosols, heavy metals, nitrogen based fertilisers, insecticides, etc. Mostly, the three kinds of chemical decontaminants are Microemulsions, strong alkalis and oxidation. Microemulsions are stable organic compounds. They are the amalgamation of oil, water, surfactants and co-surfactants. When a chemical agent gets in touch with the system, it is somewhat dissolved in the organic phase of the microemulsion. The agent can afterwards react with the water soluble decontaminant in the organic part.
Strong Bases such as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide etc make free ions in water and are hydrolysing agents. Sodium Hydroxide is helpful in the detoxification of agents where alkaline hydrolysis is involved. The most considerable type is oxidative chlorination with compounds such as Hypochlorites of calcium and sodium having active chlorine for decontamination of skin and equipment and as sterile agents.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
- Get Fit the healthy way tons of honest tips and tricks to lead a healthier life, also in progress a guide on how to stop smoking -
Word Count: 513
Reduce Your Debts Without Bankruptcy. See How Much You Can Save. Free Debt Analysis
