Wednesday, November 5, 2003
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Wednesday, November 5, 2003 |
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HazMat crews trained on treating patients exposed to biological agents, other chemicals By JOHN MUNFORD Hazardous materials response specialists from Peachtree City and Fayette County got some down-and-dirty training recently on scenarios they hope to never face. But given today’s climate and threats of bioterrorism, it can’t hurt to be prepared for treating patients exposed to biological agents or other hazardous chemicals, officials say. The Advanced Hazardous Materials Life Support class focused on how to medically treat and decontaminate patients exposed to a gamut of compounds, including chemicals from a biological weapon such as Ricin and something as commonplace as gasoline. The medics, and several emergency room physicians from metro Atlanta, also learned how to identify what a victim was exposed to based on their symptoms. Dr. Brent Morgan, chief of the medical toxicology program at Emory University, taught the class, which also covered examples of recent incidents from across the country. That way students could learn “what worked and what didn’t,” Morgan explained. The medics also learned about the various types of antidotes available which aren’t necessarily commonplace. Although such incidents are rare, “the criticality is very high,” and it’s important to take the right steps to treat the patient, said Deputy Chief Allen McCullough of the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services, which hosted the class at the Fayette County Library.
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