Individuals who will develop the decontamination procedures and select personal protective equipment for workers who will help decontaminate, must receive additional training in decontamination. Hospitals that provide decontamination services in order to attend to medical problems are in a unique situation. The hospitals that will receive contaminated accident victims must stress decontamination and personal protective equipment in their training for the designated personnel who will be expected to set up decontamination. It may be preferable to decontaminate patients completely before they leave the hazardous waste site or at least to have qualified personnel from the hazardous waste site set up and oversee the decontamination. However, hospital personnel who are trained to the first responder operations level, with additional training in decontamination, may also set up and supervise the decontamination.
Emergencies often require immediate medical attention.
Hospital personnel need to be trained to reduce the possibility of health hazards' spreading to the ambulance and emergency room. From this perspective, and when medically appropriate, decontamination should occur at the hazardous waste site, not the hospital. When such procedures are found to be ineffective, appropriate steps shall be taken to correct any deficiencies. It is obvious that hazardous waste sites do need the use of your hospital and accident victims may arrive, independent of your ambulance service, in various stages of decontamination. This means not only identifying the hospitals that will receive their employees but also ensuring that the hospitals have appropriate equipment and trained personnel to decontaminate.