Chemical incident management for accident and emergency clinicians.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-113) and index

The increasing use of chemicals and radioactive materials in industry, agriculture and medicine and as potential terrorist weapons, together with the relatively free movement of vehicles containing these substances, means that any hospital may find itself dealing with an incident involving contamination. The hospital's major incident plan should be flexible so that a common framework of response can be used to cope with any eventuality. There should not be a totally separate plan for dealing with hazardous materials incidents which will neither be rehearsed nor remembered. Failure to ensure such adaptability could lead to the hospital itself being contaminated and rendered unfit for use for a considerable period. This book seeks to give guidance to those with responsibilities in this area