What is the problem? How to evacuate a victim contaminated by a chemical in an absolute emergency? This question can be asked either in a military context when a group of combatants is under fire from conventional weapons and chemical agents (chemical warfare agents or ICTs), or in a civilian context in the case…
Continue reading ...
Farmers are subject to particular health risks, the main ones being accidental risks (machines…), physical constraints (noise, vibrations…), plant protection products, respiratory problems, biological agents and psychosocial risks (suicide). The handling of chemicals by farmers is undoubtedly an important activity of their profession and we will be particularly interested in personal protective equipment to protect…
Continue reading ...
The lead of Notre-Dame The fire of Notre-Dame de Paris on April 15, 2019 not only almost destroyed forever one of the most beautiful jewels of medieval Gothic art, but its consequences raise an important environmental problem: lead poisoning. The spire inaugurated in 1859 by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was built of oak wood and contained 250…
Continue reading ...
The main risks We have often talked on this blog about chemical events that have occurred accidentally or as a result of a terrorist attack Among these events, the sarin gas attack in the Tokyo metro is one of the most studied. The attack was carried out on 20 March 1995 and was initiated by…
Continue reading ...
Recent discussions on social networks suggest that Lyme disease could be the result of a Pentagon experiment that turned out to be wrong! This is an opportunity for us to take an overview of this disease that still deeply divides the medical community. In a second step, we will try to show whether it can…
Continue reading ...
In many situations, personnel may be in the presence of an unknown chemical substance. It may be a first responder on a mission during an intervention in a university chemistry laboratory (I have personally experienced such a situation!), a chemical waste manager who has just been informed of old full cans that have been dumped…
Continue reading ...
Reading various articles about the development of chemical weapons by the German army, we can see that many German scientists, including 8 of them who have already been awarded or are about to receive a Nobel Prize, have participated in this work. But to what extent have they really been involved? Working on the biographies…
Continue reading ...
Strange animal that the bat is! The only flying mammal (the flying squirrel can only glide from one tree to another), it is guided by an echolocation system by emitting ultrasounds (12,000 to 100,000 hertz) that it recovers the echo in its ears. With a lifespan of 20 to 30 years, it lives on average…
Continue reading ...
The security police, who are responsible for maintaining security during the demonstrations that are taking place in our country, may have been targeted by jets of corrosive products such as strong acids. This is an opportunity for us to review chemical burns: how do the products work, what are the emergency treatments? A glimpse of…
Continue reading ...
An article in Nature on February 26, 2019 reports that the United States has just adopted a new response protocol in response to an attack or following a chemical industrial accident, which is important for at least two reasons: The new protocol, including dry decontamination, will significantly improve the care provided to victims; It is…
Continue reading ...