U. S. Department of Justice                                      
Office of Justice Programs
Office for Domestic Preparedness Support             
                                             

     
     
                                               State and Local Approaches
                                             Mass Casualty Decontamination:
                                       Massachusetts' Rapid Response System


The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is enhancing its
Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Response Teams with local
fire department decontamination capabilities, fire district
decontamination companies, and hospital decontamination
companies to provide the entire State (rural and urban
areas) with access to fully equipped HazMat teams and
mass decontamination capabilities.  In the event of a
chemical, biological, or radiological attack, a phased
response system will be activated to provide for the
decontamination of large numbers of people in a manner
that maintains control of the incident, reduces harm to
exposed persons, and prevents the spread of the agent by
contaminated persons.  This Rapid Response System (RRS)
relies on the immediate initiation of decontamination by
local first responders, who are supported by a phased
decontamination response that provides the local
jurisdiction with the ability to access, decontaminate, and
treat exposed persons, including those who cannot extricate
themselves or be safely extricated.  The RRS also provides
for a decontamination capability at hospital facilities that
may receive patients from the local emergency medical
service or by self-transportation.  

The concept introduced by Massachusetts is one  approach
that is being implemented at the State and local levels to
prepare emergency responders to safely and effectively
respond to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) terrorism
incidents.  As the Office for State and Local Domestic
Preparedness Support (ODP) learns of new or
innovative approaches, it will publish a State and Local
Approaches bulletin to share that information with other
jurisdictions that might be looking for solutions to similar
problems.  ODP has not evaluated these approaches,
and the sharing of the information should not be interpreted
as an endorsement.  Those interested in the specific details
of this approach should contact the project  director
identified at the end of the bulletin. 

Hazardous Materials Response Teams

Six regional teams currently provide the entire State with
access to fully equipped hazardous materials teams that can
assist a local jurisdiction in responding to a WMD terrorism
incident.  The teams, established by the Massachusetts
Department of Fire Services, Hazardous Materials
Response Division, are available within one hour to all
communities, not just the major urban areas.

Each HazMat team consists of 40 to 70 firefighter/HazMat
technicians and support personnel drawn from participating
local fire departments.  Each district has one or two
Operational Response Units and one Technical Operations
Module.  An Operational Response Unit is a HazMat
equipment vehicle that carries all personal protective
equipment and control equipment which allows the teams to
enter an "immediately dangerous to life and health"
environment and/or less severe environment.  These units
also carry the mass casualty decontamination system.  This
system consists of a set of tents, decontamination pools,
heaters, lights, water manifolds, hoses and wands, and a
locally developed rail system that allows for the free
movement of stretcher-borne casualties.  The system can be
readily configured to decontaminate ambulatory patients,
non-ambulatory patients, and emergency response personnel
simultaneously.

The Technical Operations Modules are science and control
units for each HazMat team and contain the chemical
detection monitors and communications equipment for the
teams.  Technical Operations Modules carry the following
detection and monitoring equipment (the listing of specific
equipment is not inclusive and does not imply an ODP
endorsement of this equipment):

         Chemical Detector System Kits
         Bellows Pumps
         Programmable Chemical Agent Detectors (CADs)
         4-Gas Meters
         Digital Scaler/ Ratemeters
         Gamma Scintillators
         Alpha, Beta, Gamma Detectors
         Dosimeters 
         Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) mini-CADs
         M256A1 Detector Kits
         Field Analysis Kits
                                                 Chemical and Wastewater Classifiers     

Some Districts also have:
         Multigas Meters
         Organic Vapor Analyzers
(Note: The Division is also equipped with one portable Gas
Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer)

Fire District Decontamination Companies

The Department of Fire Services has proposed the
establishment of "decon companies" within fire departments
in each of the 15 fire districts in the State that are equipped
to conduct mass decontamination of victims of a chemical
or biological weapons attack.  These units would
significantly enhance a local jurisdiction's ability to
decontaminate and treat victims of such an attack by:

         Decreasing the time to decontaminate self-
     extricated victims
         Reducing HazMat personnel's involvement in
     decon
         Focusing HazMat resources on victims remaining
     in the contaminated area
         Focusing HazMat resources on mitigation to
     reduce the risk of additional people being
     contaminated
         Reducing the risk of secondary contamination from
     people leaving the scene

Each decon company would be provided with equipment
that is stored on trailers and maintained in a ready state by
the local department.  Each participating fire department
would also enter into an agreement with the State to
maintain the equipment, make it immediately available upon
request, and to have its personnel trained in decon
procedures.  The Department of Fire Services estimates
that, including the trailers and the equipment specified
below, each decon company will cost approximately
$20,000. 

                              Item                          Cost
                                               3 -  " x 4' x 8' plywood                  $   75
                                               2 -   "x 4' x 8' plywood                        80
                                          4 -  2" x 4" x 8' pine                     16
                                          1 -  40' x 6-' tarp                      100
                                     2 -  50' x  " garden hose                  70
                                               6 -   " full port ball valves                   57
                                        20 -   "-1" male couplings                   40
                                        20 -   "-1" female couplings                 30
                                          6 -   " x 2" nipples                         2
                                               6 -   " x  " x  " reducing riser tee              5
                                             26 -  " - 1" stainless steel clamps             13
                                          8 -   " hose caps                            8
                                          6 -   " x  " x " male hose                14
                                     6 -  Water wand                                     60
                                          6 -  5 gal pails                           30
                                                    6 -  20" brushes                                     30
                                                    1 -  20' x 100' roll plastic 6 mil                   37
                                          1 -  1 " x 6 outlet manifold                 455

                              Item                           Cost    
                              
                                2 -  15' x 10' tents                        $ 1,100
                                                    2 -  Heavy duty carry bags w/ 2 handles            110
                                          4 -  15' walls                           460
                                               2 -  10' walls w/ center zipper               180
                                               2 -  10' walls w/o center zipper              160
                                          1 -  10' rain gutter                       60
                                                    8 -  20lb. sand bags w/ quick release pins         336
  8 -  14" heavy duty metal stakes w/ quick 
                                          release pins                   216
                                          4 -  Tent lights                      1,000
                                                         8 -  Cases XXL Level-C suits w/ booties and hood     1,120 
                               Subtotal                     $  5,865

Recommended Optional Equipment:
                                     1 -  Tent heater                           $  1,000
                                          1 -  Hot water heater                 8,500
                               Subtotal                     $  9,500

                                    Total                             $15,343
                              
Hospital Decontamination Companies

While some hospitals in the State have developed a
decontamination capability for single patients, few,  if any,
have the ability to decontaminate multiple patients arriving
at the same time.  In order to provide the capacity to
decontaminate victims at the hospitals without further
taxing hospital personnel engaged in treating the victims,
the Department of Fire Services has proposed the
establishment of additional fire department decon
companies.  The decon companies would be based in
communities with hospital emergency departments and
would respond directly to a predetermined hospital during
a terrorism incident.

Implementation of this component of the RRS will require
joint planning between the fire departments and  hospitals
to determine where the decon area would be located, if
power and water are available at the site or if they must be
supplied by the decon unit, and procedures to ensure that all
contaminated patients are directed to the decon area prior to
entering the hospital.

For More Information

For more information about the Massachusetts RRS,
contact David Ladd, Director, Hazardous Materials
Response Division, Massachusetts Department of Fire
Services, at (978) 567-3117 or by e-mail at
david.ladd@state.ma.us.

For additional information on ODP State and Local
Approaches bulletins, contact Gabrielle Meszaros-Parada
at (202) 307-6061.