MFA-L3.1

Poisoning and toxic hazards on board

MFA-M3 · Toxic and environmental emergencies · MFA-M3-A Poisons and toxic hazards aboard, drowning, hypothermia and the rescued casualty.

Poisons on a yacht are mostly in the cleaning locker, the paint store, the engine room and the guest's own bag. The first aider's tools are **scene safety, identification and information**, including MFAG.

Toxicological hazards

Governing: Table A-VI/4-1 'toxicological hazards on board, including use of MFAG'; MSN 1905 Amendment 5, section 4 and Annex 5; RCUK First Aid Guidelines 2025, opioid poisoning.

Routes

Route Yacht examples
Swallowed Cleaning products decanted into drinks bottles, medicines, alcohol, contaminated food
Inhaled Mixed cleaning chemicals, engine exhaust, refrigerant, paint and solvent vapour, sewage gas (hydrogen sulphide) in tanks, CO from generators or tender engines near an open transom
Skin and eyes Teak cleaners and acid-based brighteners, antifouling, battery acid, glues, degreasers
Injected Stings and bites: jellyfish, weever fish, sea urchins; needlestick

The first aid approach

  1. Your safety. Gas and fumes in an enclosed space kill the second and third person in. Ventilate and use breathing apparatus if trained and equipped, otherwise raise the alarm and wait. Enclosed-space entry procedures apply to tanks, voids and chain lockers.
  2. Remove from exposure. Fresh air; remove contaminated clothing; irrigate skin and eyes with plenty of water.
  3. ABCDE, recovery position if breathing but drowsy, CPR if not breathing normally. Use a face shield or pocket mask; some poisons contaminate the mouth.
  4. Identify. What, how much, when, how. Keep the container.
  5. Information. The product's safety data sheet; for dangerous goods, MFAG; then TMAS.

Do not induce vomiting. Do not give anything by mouth to a casualty who is drowsy.

MFAG

The Medical First Aid Guide for Use in Accidents Involving Dangerous Goods is published by IMO, WHO and ILO. MSN 1905 section 4 requires ships carrying dangerous cargoes to follow the IMDG Code and MFAG, and Annex 5 sets the extra medicines they carry. Yachts do not carry dangerous cargo in that sense, but they do carry fuel for tenders and toys, compressed gases for diving and cooking, refrigerants and chemical stores. Use the safety data sheets on board, and treat MFAG as the reference you know how to use.

Specific situations

Situation Action
Opioid overdose (slow or absent breathing, extreme drowsiness, pinpoint pupils) CPR if not breathing normally; naloxone only if trained and carried; observe and reassess (RCUK 2025)
Alcohol Recovery position, monitor airway, do not leave alone, consider hypoglycaemia and head injury
Carbon monoxide Fresh air, oxygen if trained, TMAS; symptoms are vague (headache, nausea, confusion)
Corrosive swallowed Rinse mouth, sips of water if fully alert, no vomiting, urgent advice
Marine stings Remove from water; for jellyfish follow local advice; weever fish stings respond to hot water immersion as tolerated without scalding

WARNING — Guest medication and recreational drugs A guest collapsing in a cabin may have taken prescription or recreational drugs. Treat what you find, keep the packaging, and tell the TMAS doctor frankly; discretion is the master's business afterwards, not yours now.

CAUTION — Decanting Never decant chemicals into drinks bottles. Label everything in the cleaning locker and keep safety data sheets where interior crew can find them.

Practice questions

5 questions

recall · core

What is MFAG? (a) A UK first aid manual (b) The IMO/WHO/ILO Medical First Aid Guide for use in accidents involving dangerous goods (c) The MCA medical fitness guidance (d) A medical stores checklist

recall · core

Which sign suggests opioid overdose (RCUK 2025)? (a) Very small pupils and slow or irregular breathing (b) Flushed skin and fever (c) Hiccups (d) Dilated pupils and fast breathing

recall · core

What is the general first aid rule on inducing vomiting after swallowed poison? (a) Always induce vomiting (b) Induce vomiting with salt water (c) Induce vomiting for corrosives only (d) Do not induce vomiting

recall · core

Where should the chemical-specific first aid information for a cleaning product be found? (a) The ship's safety data sheet for the product (b) The ISM Code (c) The crew agreement (d) The oil record book

scenario · core

A junior stewardess is found dizzy and coughing in a small laundry store where two cleaning products have been mixed to clear a drain. What do you do first? (a) Ensure the space can be entered safely (ventilate, do not become a second casualty), get her into fresh air, then assess ABC and find the products' safety data sheets (b) Put her in the laundry to rest (c) Go in and carry her out immediately without ventilating (d) Give her milk to drink

Independent study. xplor is not an accredited training provider and awards no certificate or Certificate of Competency. The Medical First Aid certificate of proficiency is issued only on completion of an MCA-approved course with practical assessment on manikins and simulated casualties, and nothing here replaces hands-on training. AI-drafted content pending subject-matter-expert review.