| PACKAGING MATERIAL | CONTAMINATION | DECONTAMINATION PROCEDURES |
|---|---|---|
| AIRTIGHT METAL | VAPOR AND | AIR FOR 24 HOURS. WASH |
| CONTAINERS, GLASS | LIQUID | WITH HOT SOAPY WATER, |
| BOTTLES, FOIL | SODA, OR BLEACH SOLUTION. | |
| ALUMINATED LAMINATED | RINSE WITH WATER. | |
| MATERIALS. | ||
| POLYESTER, PVF. | VAPOR | REMOVE CONTAMINATED |
| WOODEN BOXES, CRATES, | PACKAGE. AIR CONTENTS FOR | |
| BOARD, MULTILAYER | 24 HOURS. | |
| BAGS. | ||
| CARDBOARD, | LIQUID | CONTAMINATED CONTENTS— |
| POLYETHYLENE. | TREAT AS UNPACKAGED FOOD. | |
(b) Group II consists of canned and unopened packaged items which have been contaminated with a liquid chemical agent.
1. Attempts to decontaminate porous packaging materials, such as cardboard or wood, are likely to be unsuccessful and may result in spreading the contamination. The best procedure in handling such items is to strip off the outer contaminated coverings and examine the inner layer to see if penetration of the agent has occurred. If it has, continue stripping off layers until an uncontaminated layer is reached and place it in Group I. If the agent has penetrated to the food, place it in Group III.
2. Food in cans or in other sealed, impermeable containers is not in danger of chemical contamination. Because contamination is confined to the outer surface of the sealed container, decontamination is accomplished by: immersion in boiling, soapy water for 30 minutes and rinse; immersion in boiling water for 30 minutes; spray with DS2; or to wash in hot soapy water, rinse, and aerate. Under no conditions should contaminated containers be opened before they have been decontaminated and monitored.
3. Supertropical bleach and DS2 can be used on the polyethylene menu bag for up to 24 hours without a significant change in appearance, tensile properties, and size of the plastic. The use of DS2 will cause significant degradative changes to most other plastics, while STB will cause little or no change. Also, DS2 may cause false positive readings when using M8 or M9 paper, or the M256 Detector Kit to check completeness of decontamination.
(c) Group III will consist of unpackaged or poorly packaged items which have been exposed to an agent in either vapor or liquid form. Foodstuffs in this group should be decontaminated only when absolutely necessary. The decision to use foods that have been contaminated is to be made by the commander. Decontamination procedure to be followed, in order, is: trim surface fat and grossly contaminated areas; wash with water or 2-percent sodium bicarbonate solution; then boil in water.
1. Boiling in water may be eliminated when the contamination has been only with the vapors of irritant agents. When such an exposure has been light, aeration for a short time may be used for decontamination.
2. Frying, roasting, or broiling will not remove traces of blister agents from meats. In general, salvage of foods heavily contaminated with droplets of the blister agents, especially the arsenical blister agents, is not practical. Foods of high water or fat content are unfit for consumption and reclamation is not practical when contaminated with liquid mustard or a liquid nitrogen mustard.
3. When foods have been exposed to blister agent vapor, they can be reclaimed by washing with sodium bicarbonate solutions and rinsing with clear water, by intensive cooking, or in the case of dry provisions, by 24 to 48 hours of aeration. Lean meat contaminated with mustard vapor can be reclaimed by boiling in water for 30 minutes or more. With nitrogen mustard vapor contamination, the meat should be boiled in a 2-percent sodium bicarbonate solution. Discard the water used to boil the meat.
4. Nerve agent contamination is treated the same as blister agent contamination.