Decontamination 101

August 23, 2021

Last week, we shared the advantages of a flash hood exchange. This week, we’d like to expand on when you should exchange your hood - and add gloves to your exchange list.

As we have previously shared, carcinogens and other toxic material can accumulate on personal protective equipment (PPE) during fire suppression activities. Firefighting hoods and gloves are two of the most problematic pieces of PPE as the hood sits directly on skin (which is highly permeable) and gloves have been shown to accumulate concentrations of carcinogens 100 times greater than that found on hoods. (Source: Cancer Among US Firefighters)

So, when should you exchange hoods and gloves? The answer is simply, when they become contaminated. Examples of such contamination include, but are not limited to:

• Final exit from the hazard zone during a structure fire.
  • Exchange after a structure fire is mandatory for members operating in the hazard zone.
• Completion of suppression activities of a vehicle fire, dumpster fire, or other miscellaneous fires.
• Fires conducted while training that fall into the above criteria.
• Anytime the member feels their hood or gloves have become contaminated with carcinogens.

Remember, as a firefighter, you will be exposed to an unknown number of toxins. These contaminates soil your gear. In turn, your “dirty” PPE cross-contaminates everything it comes in contact with.

We can all agree, the earlier we can decontaminate thoroughly, the more we can mitigate occupational cancer exposure and risks. These three additional proactive tips are also worth sharing:

• Never wear dirty gear inside the cabs of fire engines nor in your personal vehicle. If you can smell smoke in the vehicle, think to yourself “I’m smelling cancer.”
• Use “rescue wipes” – especially if you can’t shower as soon as possible. These inexpensive special heavy-duty wipes are used on necks and hands before leaving a fire scene and “wipe away the risk.” One advertised product that sells for $11.99 (pack of 48 wipes) indicates the wipes remove up to 99.7 percent of leads toxins from the skin and up to 90 percent of the carcinogen, Benzopyrene, commonly found in soot. They can also be used to remove soot from boots and helmets.
• “Shower within the hour” is one more preemptive step toward decontamination to limit the amount of carcinogenic byproducts being absorbed into the bloodstream.

Lastly, we encourage you to check out the “Healthy In, Healthy Out” best practices guide for reducing cancer risk. You may find the information is this free manual useful, such as items in the “low cost category” (page 4) your department can consider and adopt.