title: Showering effectiveness for human hair decontamination of the nerve agent VX.
abstract: In this work, our goals were to establish whether hair decontamination by showering one hour post-exposure to the highly toxic organophosphate nerve agent VX was effective, whether it required the addition of a detergent to water and, if it could be improved by using the adsorbent Fuller's Earth (FE) or the Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion (RSDL) 30 min prior to showering. Hair exposure to VX and decontamination was performed by using an in vitro model. Hair showering led to 72% reduction of contamination. Addition of detergent to water slightly increased the decontamination effectiveness. Hair treatment with FE or RSDL improved the decontamination rate. Combination of FE use and showering, which yielded a decontamination factor of 41, was demonstrated to be the most effective hair decontamination procedure. Hair wiping after showering was shown to contribute to hair decontamination. Altogether, our results highlighted the importance of considering hair decontamination as an important part of body surface decontamination protocols.
authors: Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Département de Toxicologie et Risques Chimiques, BP73, 91223 Brétigny-sur-Orge, France; Service de Santé et de Secours Médical du Service Départemental d'Incendie et de Secours des Alpes-Maritimes, 140 avenue Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny, BP99, 06271 Villeneuve-Loubet Cedex, France. Electronic address: denis.josse@sdis06.fr.
authors: Denis
authors: D
authors: Josse
authors: Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Département de Toxicologie et Risques Chimiques, BP73, 91223 Brétigny-sur-Orge, France.
authors: Julien
authors: J
authors: Wartelle
authors: Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Département de Toxicologie et Risques Chimiques, BP73, 91223 Brétigny-sur-Orge, France.
authors: Catherine
authors: C
authors: Cruz
mesh_terms: D017607:Aluminum Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D003666:Decontamination / Q000379:methods*; D006197:Hair / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D017616:Magnesium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D009946:Organothiophosphorus Compounds / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D017640:Silicates / Q000494:pharmacology; D063465:Skin Cream / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D017607:Aluminum Compounds; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D017616:Magnesium Compounds; D009946:Organothiophosphorus Compounds; D017640:Silicates; C001262:Fuller's Earth; C009680:VX-agent
keywords: Hair decontamination; Showering; VX nerve agent