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Chemical Contamination and the Autopsy

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Abstract

Due to the infectious disease process, the handling of bodies infected by biological agents is fundamentally different to the handling of those exposed to chemical or radiation agents. A “contaminated fatality” is a body (or body part) that has usually been contaminated with a chemical, although more rarely contamination could be from biological or radiological agents. Individuals who are required to undertake postmortems, examine, or otherwise identify or handle these corpses should be aware of the risks of secondary contamination and take adequate precautions to prevent any unnecessary exposure to the chemical(s) causing the contamination or its by-products from reaction in the body.

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Notes

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    Personal communication.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Hazards and Emergencies Department, London Health Protection Agency, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9SZ, UK

    Robie Kamanyire M.Sc.

  2. Extreme Events and Health Protection Section, Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Health Protection Agency, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9SZ, UK

    Ishani Kar-Purkayastha BMBCh (Oxon), MPH, MRCP & Virginia Murray FFOM, FRCP, FRCPath, FFPH

Authors
  1. Robie Kamanyire M.Sc.
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  2. Ishani Kar-Purkayastha BMBCh (Oxon), MPH, MRCP
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  3. Virginia Murray FFOM, FRCP, FRCPath, FFPH
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robie Kamanyire M.Sc. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Forensic Pathology Unit, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Robert Kilpatrick Clinical Sciences Building, Leicester, LE2 7LX, United Kingdom

    Guy N. Rutty

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© 2013 Springer-Verlag London

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Kamanyire, R., Kar-Purkayastha, I., Murray, V. (2013). Chemical Contamination and the Autopsy. In: Rutty, G. (eds) Essentials of Autopsy Practice. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-519-4_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-519-4_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-85729-518-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-85729-519-4

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