 to reduce the chemical hazard on their equipment. This unit has been warned of a suspected biological attack. We assume that they were safe. Take a long road mark. The vehicles were not decontaminated. Is your unit careless like this? Or are you better prepared to deal with contamination? Chin was not taken to reduce the contamination on their vehicles and equipment. These men needlessly became hospitalized. Some of their buddies were not so lucky. Ideological agents on personnel, equipment, or areas. Marked contaminated areas, the United States, along with other NATO countries, has adopted three signs. The chemical contamination marker has red lettering on a yellow background. On the marker should be written the date, time, and the name of the agent if known. Place it on the perimeter of the contaminated area, or it can't be hidden by grass or undergrowth. The biological marker is blue with red lettering. When known, indicate the date, time, and name of the agent. The radiological contamination marker should give the dose rate at the location, the date and time of reading, and the date and time of burst if known. As you will note, this sign has black lettering on a white background. Remember, chemical, biological, or radiological contamination is identified by the color of the markers. What is decontamination? In simple terms, it is anything that reduces the hazard from CBR agents. Decontamination makes it possible for the unit to continue its mission without the threat of further casualties from the agents. You must be prepared individually and as a unit to reduce the chemical, biological, or radiological contamination in your area, on your person, or on your equipment. There are four methods of decontamination. They are natural, removing, and destroying. No matter what type of unit you belong to, these methods will apply. Natural decontamination occurs by weathering or aging. One way weathering works for you is when chemical agents are blown away by the wind. Decontamination can also result from the evaporation of liquid agents. Rain can flush away CBR agents. Nature sometimes does the job that might require many man hours to accomplish. Most biological agents are destroyed by sunlight. Weathering is the simplest way to decontaminate chemical and biological agents. You should take advantage of nature's assistance through weathering whenever possible. Aging, the second kind of natural decontamination, has to do with the decay of radioactive material in fallout. The radiation hazard from fallout decreases with a passage of time. If the tactical situation permits, let aging reduce the hazard before trying other decontaminating methods. The second method of decontamination, removing, includes two types. The dry process and the wet process. The dry process is used for radiological agents and is accomplished by brushing, wiping, or scraping contaminated equipment. It is very important to monitor equipment during decontamination in order to determine when the contamination is down to a permissible level. The wet process applies to chemical, biological and radiological decontamination. This can be accomplished by hosing or washing with soapy water. If biological contamination is suspected, decontaminate with hot soapy water or a good disinfectant. In any decontamination operation, the contaminated waste material should be controlled and decontaminated. This requires your careful attention as much as any other phase of decontamination. The third method of decontamination is covering. This method is primarily used for waste disposal. Check periodically to be sure there is no chemical vapor hazard. The importance of testing cannot be stressed too often. Earth can also be used to cover fallout. As you increase the earth covering, the radiation hazard decreases. Monitor with your radiac meter to ensure that the radiation is sufficiently reduced. The fourth method of decontamination destroying applies to chemical and biological agents only. Radiological agents cannot be destroyed. Standard decontaminants used to destroy chemical and biological agents are STB and DS2. Burning is another means of destroying. One decontaminant for destroying B and G nerve agents, blister agents, and biological agents is STB. Because of the high chlorine content, wear a protective mask and gloves. STB can be used as a dry mix or a wet mix called slurry. In a dry mix, two parts of STB are combined with three parts of earth. The purpose of this mix is to prevent a fire hazard should the STB come in contact with liquid mustard. Dry mix is used in shuffle pits to destroy chemical agents on boots. You must use a shuffle pit when entering or leaving a contaminated area. It is also spread underneath and around equipment to be decontaminated. This procedure destroys toxic agents which drip off the equipment onto the ground. Dry mix can also be used for vital area decontamination. Here's how you prepare slurry. Mix one can of STB with approximately six gallons of water. The slurry is simple to make and can prove very effective. Use slurry to decontaminate rubber tires or wooden material. This seals contamination into porous surfaces. Avoid applying STB to metal because it is very corrosive. Another decontaminant is DS2. It is easy to use and will destroy all known toxic chemical agents and non-spore forming biological agents. DS2 can be used on rubber, plastic and metal. The ABCM11 decontaminating apparatus is designed to decontaminate vital parts of tactical vehicles or cruise-served weapons. You can also apply DS2 by swabbing or brushing it on equipment. Be careful when using DS2 solution as it is irritating to the skin. Keep in mind that DS2 is flammable. Don't use it around electrical connections or hot engines. After applying DS2, wait 30 minutes. Then rinse it off with water. Liquid chemical agents on terrain can be destroyed by burning. This is especially feasible where the contamination is on vegetation that can be burned. The burning will vaporize and destroy the liquid agent. Remember whenever you decontaminate by burning, be sure to warn friendly personnel downwind of the toxic vapor hazard. Sometimes a decontamination problem cannot be handled at the unit level. Men in supplies may be limited. Should this be the case, assistance can be obtained by board organizations. Trained teams with special equipment such as the power-driven decontaminating apparatus can carry out large-scale decontamination. Most of the time you will be operating without the assistance of specially trained men and their equipment. CBR decontamination is your responsibility no matter what kind of unit you belong to. Remember the four methods of decontamination. Natural, removing, covering, and destroying. However, radiological agents cannot be destroyed. Your unit will have decontaminants to destroy chemical agents. STB, which can be employed as a dry mix or slurry to decontaminate B and G agents, blister agents, and biological agents. And DS2, effective for toxic chemical agents and non-sporeforming biological agents. Burning is another means of destroying contamination. Mark contaminated areas with the proper signs whether it's chemical, biological, or radiological contamination. In any decontamination operation, the contaminated waste material should be controlled and decontaminated. Don't fail to use your radiac meter during radiological decontamination. This is a must for your safety and the safety of your unit. Test for chemical contamination with your detector kit. Test before decontaminating and after completion of decontamination to be sure the hazard is reduced sufficiently. If you fail to decontaminate, you endanger not only yourself, but also the other men of your unit. Don't ignore contamination. Don't become a casualty.