In my community, there exists an International Sports Centre, which utilises a sitting capacity of over seven hundred individuals. The centre is constantly used for football and athletic competitions whereby a number of community members attend as spectators. Terrorism has risen to become a global concern and use of pepper spray by terrorist in their attacks has been a notable trend in the recent past. Therefore, my community has set up a preventive system to help curb incidences of pepper spray contamination at the centre.
The community has set up running taps strategically within the sports-centre. This assist in washing off any pepper spray from eyes of victims who have succumbed to contamination by pepper sprays. Moreover, the management of the sports-centre has placed sudecon decontamination wipes inside the sports-centre, which neutralise and wash-off pepper spray when running water is unavailable. The wipes are also more efficient, as it drastically improves recovery time from exposure to pepper spray. The community further utilises another decontamination spray called bio-shield anti-pepper spray, which is non-toxic decontaminant using natural herbal ingredients in neutralising the effects of pepper spray.
In case, a terrorist fired pepper spray into the air handling system at the sports-centre, since vision is blurred for the victims, a loud speaker will be used to announce to everyone to remain calm without panicking as they wait to be assisted. Persons assisting the victims will first wear rubber gloves as a precautionary measure. The victims will then be moved to uncontaminated area promptly, placed to face the direction of the wind and asked to breathe normally. They will further be asked not to rub their faces, as this aggravates more pain. The victims faces/affected areas will then be flushed with cold water for fifteen minutes either by use of a horse pipe or normal water tap (Otto & Jos, 2004).
The affected areas of the victims will then be cleaned with non-oil or cold cream based soaps. This will remove the active ingredients of the spray. Lotion and greases should not be used, as it will trap the particles of the spray in the skin. To reduce inflammation in the affected areas, ice packs or a damp towel will be used (Gary & Theodore, 2007). If the pain or irritation persists after decontamination procedures, a physician should be sought to examine the exposed area.
References
Gary, M. V. & Theodore, C. C. (2007). Less lethal technology: medical issues. Policing: an
international journal of police strategies & management, 30 (3), 87-98.
Otto, M.J. & Jos, M. (2004). An unreasonable response to suspect verbal resistance. Policing: An
international journal of police strategies & management, 27 (2), 67-72.
