Decontamination in the context of "U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories"

A hazmat suit is a piece of personal protective equipment that consists of an impermeable whole-body or one piece garment worn as protection against hazardous materials.

Such suits are often combined with self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) to ensure a supply of breathable air. Hazmat suits are used by firefighters, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, researchers, personnel responding to toxic spills, specialists cleaning up contaminated facilities, and workers in toxic environments.

An emergency evacuation is an immediate egress or escape of people away from an area that contains an imminent threat, an ongoing threat or a hazard to lives or property.

Examples range from the small-scale evacuation of a building due to a storm or fire to the large-scale evacuation of a city because of a flood, bombardment or approaching weather system, especially a tropical cyclone. In situations involving hazardous materials or possible contamination, evacuees may be decontaminated prior to being transported out of the contaminated area. Evacuation planning is an important aspect to mitigate the impact of disasters on humans. Today there many evacuation models to simulate this process for small-scale and large-scale situations.