Emergency decontamination is performed outside of the decontamination corridor.

Emergency decontamination is performed outside of the decontamination corridor.

• A. Inside the decontamination corridor
• B. Outside of the decontamination corridor
• C. In the PPE removal area
• D. In the hot zone

Answer: (B)

Emergency decontamination is a rapid, improvised cleaning step used to shorten exposure time and prevent the spread of contamination while the more formal decontamination setup is being prepared. It is performed at the boundary between the hot zone and the decontamination process, outside the dedicated decontamination corridor. The reason for placing it outside the corridor is to keep the controlled decon path clean and uncontaminated; you want to remove contaminated clothing and perform a quick rinse without bringing contaminants into the orderly, staged decon steps inside the corridor. This rapid action reduces the amount of contaminant that could be carried into the decon sequence or into clean areas. In practice, this means the initial, emergency decon often happens in the PPE removal area at the edge of the warm zone, so responders can shed outer gear and do a brief rinse or wipe before proceeding into the decontamination corridor for thorough decon. Doing decon inside the corridor or in the hot zone would either compromise the protective flow and contaminate the clean areas, or expose responders to the highest levels of contamination.

Emergency decontamination is a rapid, improvised cleaning step used to shorten exposure time and prevent the spread of contamination while the more formal decontamination setup is being prepared. It is performed at the boundary between the hot zone and the decontamination process, outside the dedicated decontamination corridor. The reason for placing it outside the corridor is to keep the controlled decon path clean and uncontaminated; you want to remove contaminated clothing and perform a quick rinse without bringing contaminants into the orderly, staged decon steps inside the corridor. This rapid action reduces the amount of contaminant that could be carried into the decon sequence or into clean areas.

In practice, this means the initial, emergency decon often happens in the PPE removal area at the edge of the warm zone, so responders can shed outer gear and do a brief rinse or wipe before proceeding into the decontamination corridor for thorough decon. Doing decon inside the corridor or in the hot zone would either compromise the protective flow and contaminate the clean areas, or expose responders to the highest levels of contamination.