BW or CW Attack

2. Adjust your clothing to cover exposed skin (battle dress). 3. Slip on a protective cover, if you have one, or cover yourself with anything at hand. 4. Keep upwind of the explosion, if possible. 5. Administer first aid to yourself and to others. 6. If you are not a casualty, report to your duty station or to the designated area where you can take a shower and get clean clothes. 7. Keep your hands away from your face, particularly your mouth. 8. Don’t eat, chew, drink, or smoke until the items are checked by a medical officer. 9. Don’t stir up dust or step into puddles. 10. Don’t brush against or touch decks, bulkheads, structures, or objects in the contaminated area. Breathing radioactive particles is dangerous. Take shelter from dust clouds raised by wind, by aircraft, or by moving vehicles. Otherwise, use a protective mask or a handkerchief for protection. Nuclear Attack If there is warning of a nuclear attack, the word is passed to take cover. When the word is passed, go to your designated shelter as quickly as possible. At the sound of the alarm, get your protective mask ready. If you are ordered to a shelter, remain there until the all-clear signal is given. In general, the farther you are below the main deck (deep shelters), the better the protection from nuclear radiation. To reduce the contamination from the base surge and from fallout, secure the appropriate Circle W fittings. All topside openings will be closed for as long as the ship is in the danger area. BW or CW Attack If you are in a BW or CW attack, avoid the spray, mist, or cloud if you can. Wear your mask, cover your body as much as possible, and seek shelter. Assume that all surfaces in the vicinity of the attack are contaminated; leave the area quickly, and follow the route to the closest decontamination area. Report any sickness promptly, and do not eat, drink or smoke. Since BW and CW agents can sometimes enter your body through the skin, cover any cuts or scratches. As with nuclear warfare protective measures, if you have no mask with you, cover your nose and mouth with your handkerchief or cloth (such as a rag or shirt). PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT The protective equipment described here includes the MCU-2P mask, clothing, and antidotes for certain chemical agents. You should know how to use a MCU-2/P protective mask and how to apply antidotes. Two types of clothing are useful, to varying degrees, in CBR defense—wet-weather clothing and ordinary work clothing MCU-2/P Protective Mask The protective mask, or gas mask, is your most important piece of protective equipment against CBR agents. It protects your face, eyes, nose, throat, and lungs. The reason it is so important is because inhaling CBR agents is much more dangerous than getting them on the outside of your body. Without filtration of some kind, a large amount of contamination could be inhaled in a short time. The mask serves two functions: 1. It filters the air, removing particles of dust that may be radioactive or otherwise contaminated. 2. It purifies the air of many poisonous gases. The mask does not produce oxygen. Therefore, it doesn’t provide protection against smoke or against toxic gases, such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and ammonia. Therefore, it may be used for emergency escape only as a last resort. When entering a compartment containing such gases, you must use an oxygen breathing apparatus or an air hose mask. The operation of the mask is simple. On inhalation (breathing in), the air passes through a filter system that filters and absorbs the CBR agents. Exhaled (breathing out) air is expelled through a one-way valve. 13-18 Student Notes: