Sponsored by Decon7 Systems
By Police1 BrandFocus Staff
OK, so you’ve busted the drug house or called the medical examiner’s office – or perhaps you’ve discovered that the last guy you arrested left a little something behind in your cruiser ... What now?
Scene safety is a priority for law enforcement, but too often that doesn’t include decontamination to protect officers and bystanders from the toxic effects created by exposure to drugs and diseases. What can cops do to protect themselves when they have to deal with barf in the back seat or a scene contaminated with dangerous narcotics?
Gloves, soap and water simply aren’t enough. You need a solution that will neutralize germs and the toxic properties of drugs, not just remove them from your hands to a towel or sink where they remain a hazard.
Decon7 Systems provides the patented D7 formula, which can neutralize toxic or infectious hazards posed from line-of-duty threats like fentanyl and bloodborne pathogens like hepatitis within minutes. The decontamination solution, developed for the U.S. Department of Defense, is available in the ready-to-use BDAS+ unit as well as bulk liquid.
A READY-TO-USE DECONTAMINATION TOOL
Washing with soap and water can remove contaminants from a surface, such as your hands or the back seat of your cruiser, but it doesn’t eliminate potential threats like bacteria or trace drug residue.
Unlike most decontamination products that must be mixed at the time of use, The BDAS+ provides the detergent, neutralization and accelerant in a single package and mixes them for one-step application. Simply pull the yellow safety tab from the nozzle, point it at the surface to be decontaminated, then pull the trigger.
“Officers have more important things to worry about than spending 10 or 20 minutes preparing and mixing a decontaminant that they need on the spot and not well after the fact,” said Joe Hill, defense product manager for Decon7. “With the BDAS+, you can pull a ready-to-use unit and spray it. There’s no mixing.”
The handheld unit, which weighs less than 2 pounds, can be stored in your cruiser and deployed within seconds. In addition to enabling rapid response, the BDAS+ eliminates potential for human error because it automatically mixes the solution’s three components.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Once the D7 solution is mixed and applied to a surface and in contact with the threat, the neutralization process begins. The formula disinfects, decomposes and partially digests pathogens like bacteria and viruses and breaks down contaminants like fentanyl and other drugs. Positively charged micelles, or clusters of molecules, draw germs and contaminants into the liquid, where the hazard is chemically altered to render the contamination harmless in a matter of minutes.
D7 can reduce the number of germs present by up to 10 million times, and testing shows that the formula eliminates more than 97 percent of fentanyl in five minutes. The formula is not flammable, is minimally corrosive and is biodegradable once mixed.
SAFE FOR FREQUENT USE
While chlorine and bleach solutions will neutralize many biological and chemical agents, the runoff of these solutions is still hazardous. Also, bleach itself is highly corrosive and can cause damage to many surfaces, particularly the plastics common in police vehicles. Alcohol and ammonia present similar inhalation hazards and potential damage to surfaces.
D7 can kill most pathogens – without harmful fumes like bleach – and neutralize dangerous narcotics like fentanyl by breaking them down into nontoxic substances. The formula is safe to apply on a variety of surfaces, including plastics and metals, and it creates no noxious fumes or odors.
Although D7 complies with environmental regulations, D7 is not FDA-approved for skin application. Users should wear gloves and goggles, plus a mask and protective clothing when applying the solution in close quarters.
PROTECT YOUR HEALTH
D7 also eradicates smells, a definite plus for cops who need to clean their cruisers.
“I guarantee you, somewhere in the United States every day, someone is vomiting, urinating or defecating in a car, or bleeding or spitting, so you’re getting some sort of bodily fluid exposure daily,” Hill said. “D7 attacks the source of the smells, whether it’s from vomit, feces or urine, from animals or people, and in doing so neutralizes the health threat officers are being exposed to – because if you can smell it, you are being exposed.”
In addition to instant application with the BDAS+ unit, the bulk D7 solution can be applied with a foaming apparatus, low-pressure sprayer, mop or soaking system as well. Fogging can be especially effective to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
“If you fog your car with D7, in addition to applying D7 to the gross contamination from the BDAS+ or another applicator, not only are you killing the bodily fluid-borne pathogens, you’re also killing anything that has become an airborne pathogen,” said Hill. “Patrol officers live inside their cars while they’re on patrol, and you can do so many things to protect your health – like not just cleaning up what you can see, but also addressing the threats left behind that you can’t see.”
Police officers face numerous threats on the job, including exposure to hazardous narcotics like fentanyl and infectious diseases like hepatitis. Make sure you have adequate protection and decontamination tools so you can protect yourself from these threats.