Analysis of the Effectiveness of Decontamination Fluids on the Level of Biological Contamination of Firefighter Suits

• Main Authors: Andrzej Polanczyk, Aleksandra Piechota-Polanczyk, Anna Dmochowska, Malgorzata Majder-Lopatka, Zdzislaw Salamonowicz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: biological decontamination; Gram’s method; decontamination; firefighter special outfit
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/8/2815

The scope of tasks of chemical and ecological rescue procedures includes prevention of terrorist attacks with biological weapons. After each action, firefighters are obliged to clean and disinfect their outfits to prevent the potential spreading of harmful microorganisms. This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of decontamination fluids used to disinfect firefighter’s suits. Two types of clothes were analyzed: special combat clothing (NOMEX), and the heavy gas-tight chemical type 1a suit. Swabbed places were cut out and sterilized mechanically using detergent and alcohol. Each time, smears were made on sterile glass, fixed in pure ethanol and stained using the Gram method. After this, the staining samples were air dried and photographed under a light microscope at magnification 1000×. Each smear was made in triplicate and the relative number of stained microorganisms was analyzed using ImageJ software. The results showed that detergent significantly decreased the number of pathogens in the chest area on the NOMEX suit and the type 1a-gas-tight clothing and was more effective than alcohol, especially in case of the NOMEX suit. In conclusion, the detergent was more efficient in decontaminating the NOMEX outfit than the heavy gas-tight clothing, whose surface was better cleaned by the alcohol.