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               personal protective equipment Is discussed in the chemical profile data

               sheets, and criteria for the selection of chemical resistant suits is

               also provided (see appendix 9).


               A victim who has been acutely exposed to a chemical warfare agent will

               require Immediate decontamination and life support.  Emergency medical

               personnel should wear protective clothing appropriate to the type and

               degree of contamination.  Responders and equipment exposed to any of the

               agents must be decontaminated, and all decontamination wastes, which are

 *             hazardous, must be properly disposed.  A downwind population threatened
               with exposure should be evacuated at once.


               HYDROCYANIC ACID


 }             Hydrocyanic acid (hydrogen cyanide) is a blood agent with "super toxic"
               properties.  Developed for use as a rodent poison and fumigant,  it is

               toxic by all routes of entry:   Inhalation, skin, eye, and Ingestion.
               Exposure to a small amount--300 ppm--may result in death.  Hydrocyanic

               acid will react to produce toxic cyanide fumes, and it may decompose

               explosively on contact with alkaline materials.  Signs and symptoms

               include convulsions, paralysis, coma, and death.  Contact will cause lung

               hemorrhage and pulmonary edema.  For emergency response, a positive

 *             pressure, full facepiece self-contained breathing apparatus and fully

               encapsulating suit are required.  The U.S. Department of Transportation,
               which classifies hydrocyanic acid as poison A and flammable, recommends

           *   an initial Isolation radius of 600 feet and a 2-mile downwind protection
               of all persons for the release of any quantity.


               LEWISITE


                        is a highly toxic blister gas by all routes of exposure:  a


  1:           systemic poison which is lethal by inhalation in concentrations as low as

               6 ppm.  Contact results in an immediate searing sensation in the eyes and


 I..           gb/opds/cepp                         2

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