For reasons noted below, before he is sent for decontamination, a casualty must be stabilized so that he can survive 20 to 30 minutes without further care. There are two decontamination areas, one for litter casualties and one for ambulatory casualties. The relative use of each area will probably differ from one echelon of medical care to another. At higher echelons of care with the capability to care for these casualties, all litter patients will be decontaminated. At the BAS, attempts will be made to treat walking casualties and return them to duty.
Decontamination is time and labor intensive.
Estimates of the time required to decontaminate a litter patient range from 8 to 20 minutes. A medic supervises the litter decontamination area, but he can provide little or no medical care during this procedure. He cannot support ventilation, nor can he assist a suddenly apneic casualty. Personnel performing litter decontamination wear butyl rubber aprons over their protective garments. The ambient temperature and humidity dictate their work-rest cycle, but even under temperate conditions the work period is short, necessitating frequent change of personnel.