It is relatively easy to obtain toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) and pharmaceutical based agents from various sources in communities. These, so-called ‘agents of opportunity’, are in general less toxic than chemical weapons, but they still pose a considerable risk for our safety. Especially for first responders there is an urgent need to be protected when they encounter a case involving these compounds. Surfaces may be contaminated for a long time.
"These ‘agents of opportunity’ pose a considerable risk for our safety."
In the present study, the health hazard from contaminated surfaces was determined before and after decontamination with an RSDL kit. Analytical methods were developed for nine challenging compounds in order to quantify the contact risk. The decontamination effectiveness ranged from 97.79% to 99.99%. These results indicate that the RSDL kit could be an effective decontaminant for different kind of toxic chemicals.