An assessment of working canine contamination from standing liquid hazards during a simulated disaster search scenario.

Abstract Working canines have the potential to be exposed to hazardous materials during search and rescue (SAR) deployments. Unfortunately, little data are available regarding likely areas of contamination on working canines or effective techniques for substance removal. We describe recent work using an oil-based UV fluorescent marker pooled to mimic standing liquid hazards in a simulated disaster scene to characterize anatomical locations likely to be contaminated. This study utilized three simulated “contaminated” environments situated across a disaster training complex. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) working canines (n =11) searched the simulated disaster scene and traversed each contaminated environment. Following the search, all canines were kenneled for 30 minutes and then photographed to capture anatomic locations of exposure. The canines were then taken immediately to the decontamination station where handlers’ attempts at canine decontamination were recorded. Anatomical locations were coded as ventral or dorsal, and then further subdivided to the neck, chest, lower legs and paws for ventral exposures; and back, head, face, and hips for dorsal exposures. Contamination occurred consistently on the paws and lower legs with overall ventral exposure occurring in 39/44 (89%) observations. Contamination of the back and head was infrequent, with overall dorsal exposure occurring in 11/44 (25%) observations. Despite handler awareness of the exact anatomical locations of exposure with a greater frequency of exposure involving ventral (78%) vs. dorsal (22%) regions of the canine (P