The trick is to keep it out of you - keep your N95 mask handy.
Well there is a hazard of radiation particles builing up in the mask itself, which will become a source of radiation. So don't forget to replace the mask after awhile. it will safe you from a unhealthy dose of radiation near your face.
If hazmat does it for you, you'll wind up naked, hopefully wrapped in a blanket.
They don't carry spare clothing for victims? I have been decontaminated three times as a civilian and we always get a pack of replacement clothing.
Problems with that assumption, is 1: that it depends on what the local hazmat team / hospital district has stocked and 2: It'd have to depend on the scale of the event. Our class was for the local Medical Reserve Corps and for local health service to raise awareness of these issues for mass casualty incidents. They didn't seem to think it was a given at all. We were being warned that it need to be taken into account lest your local news helicopers get prime time video of naked, wet people standing around.
Bare minimum, if you think you've been anywhere near exposure, be prepared to throw your clothing in a sealed plastic bag, and wash down thoroughly with warm (not hot) soap and water. Also, be aware that contact lenses can absorb chemicals, so be prepared to get them out ASAP. I found this out the hard way, while finishing some home built furniture with spray polyurathane.
Well not always with water, some chemicals contamination can be worsed by washing with water. But in generall MOST (not all) decontamination van be done with soapy water. Although you should keep the water temperature in the 25- 35 Celcius zone (depending on the weather conditions). To hot and your pores open allowing chemicals to enter, to cold is bad too...
Good point. Our class covered mostly the possible terror attack weapons, not the full range of possible contaminants. Our Hazmat instructor kept reciting "Dilution is the Solution to the Pollution", heh.
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