In this bonus content podcast, we discuss the actions you should take in the unlikely event you should ever be contaminated by a chemical weapon.

Thanks for listening to this bonus podcast.  Normally, my bonus podcasts are only available through my website, but I feel this information is really important so I decided to put it on my normal feed.  If you enjoy this podcast, feel free to listen to my other bonus podcasts by visiting my website sci-vs-fear.com In my previous podcast, we talked about the different types of chemical weapons. Today we will take about what you should do if you become exposed.

Chemical weapons: I’ve been slimed, what do I do now?

In this podcast, we will be discussing what you should do in

the unlikely event you get slimed with a chemical warfare agent.  That's a highly scientific term by the way.

For the past couple of years, I’ve been asking myself this

question from a professional standpoint. 

Generally, when we deal with dangerous chemicals, we use a full suite of

protective gear.  Removing someone from

contaminated protective gear without getting the person dirty is very important.  It is much more complicated than I ever

imagined, but some basic principles help us do a good job.

Should you get chemical weapons or any other chemical on

your clothing or skin,   there are some

important steps you can take.  I’m not

the only one who has been thinking about this. 

Public Health England has been taking the question very seriously. 

Public Health England, chemical weapons statement

They state “The deliberate use of toxic materials represents

a serious threat to society. In particular, chemical warfare agents are

indiscriminate weapons that can have a devastating impact when used on

unprotected civilian populations, as recently evidenced in Syria.  Any complacency based on the notion that

chemical warfare agents are limited to politically unstable regions was

recently dispelled by the use of a ‘novichok’ nerve agent in the UK. The

current threat level for international terrorism in the UK is presently classed

as ‘severe’. Exposure of individuals to liquid or particulate substances

presents a particular challenge to the emergency services, as casualties will

need to undergo immediate disrobe and decontamination in order to mitigate the

risk of adverse health effects.” https://emj.bmj.com/content/emermed/36/2/117.full.pdf

Because of this concern, they sponsored a series of research

trials called ORCHID.  The principles I

discuss today come directly from their research and conclusions.  To date, I’m not aware of any more thorough

research available.

Traditionally, response to a chemical agent exposure would

be a water-based shower type of cleaning. 

However, in a terrorist scenario, the resources probably won't be

available, therefore, they recommend using absorbent materials rather than

water in most cases.  There are a couple

of advantages to this.  First, it creates

much less waste than the water-based cleaning, especially if the run-off

contains toxic substances.  Water-based

cleaning can tend to spread contamination all over a person while dry cleaning

physically removes most of it.  Using

water on contaminated clothing can also drive the chemicals through the

clothing onto the skin.