A comparison of decontamination effects of commercially available detergents in rats pre-exposed to topical sulphur mustard

Abstract

Objective: The genotoxic vesicant sulphur mustard [bis-2-(chloroethyl)sulphide] is a chemical warfare agent which is easily available due to its relatively simple synthesis. Thus, sulphur mustard is a potential agent for mass contamination. In this study, we focused on sulphur mustard toxicity and decontamination in a rat model using commercially available detergent mixtures for dermal decontamination.

Methods: Male Wistar rats were percutaneously treated with sulphur mustard and subjected to wet decontamination 2 min postexposure. Commercially produced detergents Neodekont^™, Argos^™, Dermogel^™ and FloraFree^™ were tested for their decontamination efficacy against an exposed group and their protective ratios determined.

Results and conclusion: The results showed that all tested detergent solutions produced an increase in the median lethal dose [LD₅₀ = 9.83 (5.87–13.63) mg·kg⁻¹] in comparison to controls, which led to increased survival of experimental animals. In general, all tested detergents provided modest decontamination efficacy (PR = 2.0–5.7). The highest protective ratio (5.7) was consistently achieved with Argos^™. Accordingly, Argos^™ should be considered in further investigation of mass casualty decontamination.

Keywords::

• Mass decontamination
• tenside
• skin
• protective ratio
• Argos
• FloraFree
• Dermogel
• Neodekont

Acknowledgments

Authors would like to thank Jo Larner for her proofreading of the English language.

Declaration of interest

This work was supported by the European Union Executive Agency for Health and Consumers (ORCHIDS Project) with contributions from the long term development programs of the Faculty of Military Health Sciences and University Hospital.