29 February 2016

Features And Uses Of Portable Decontamination Shower

By Jennifer Long


Circumstances can occur that call for cleaning of a human body to get rid of contamination from radioactive substances, toxic chemicals and infection causing agents. These materials affect the health of a person and can be detrimental to the safety of a property. To achieve the cleaning, portable decontamination shower are used.

Exposure to the harmful chemicals can occur due to a number of reasons. Some might be accidental, intentional or an occupational hazard. Use of nuclear materials by terrorists exposes casualties to radioactive agents. In spite of workers being given personal protection equipments, situations can arise where they get exposed to the chemical. Persons exposed to areas of life threatening contagious diseases need to be cleaned out before they are managed at hospitals.

Some industries require all personnel working for them to undergo routine decontamination. However, an accident can occur that may cause them to need more decon showers. The United State department of Labor requires industries to have emergency means of disinfecting personnel in addition to routine procedures. During chemical accidents, the wash out is done on the site of the accident before the casualties are transported.

Decon showers are made to produce a lot of water that covers the whole body at a go. For this, they have large shower heads. The most important aspect for the unit is adequate supply of water from a mobile source. Water is used for cleaning the body and the equipment itself. The water must be warm to ensure decontamination takes place. The American National standard Institute terms the water warmth to be tepid. The equipments should be made of steel to prevent bacterial build up.

Modern devices have sensors that activate the system once a person steps in cleaning zone. The unit should be able to accommodate the ambulant and non ambulant victims in a favorable way. To ensure comfort of the victim, the environment should be well heated. The unit should be set up such that there is good air flow to avoid contamination of air from evaporating chemicals. The flow rate of water must be high.

There are a variety of decon equipments that the market has to offer. The latest models are lighter despite being metal cased. There are brief case sized units that are collapsible. New trends provide equipments that are fast and easy to set up and disassemble. They should be easy to transport and store. In spite of the unit being mobile, it should have the right length, width and height that can accommodate all sizes of people.

These units are always put up close to the scene of the incident. At least it should take a casualty ten seconds to reach the unit. Upon arrival, they shed off any clothes or valuables they have. Next they get to the clean zone where the actual decontamination takes place. The persons spend about fifteen minutes in the water. Then they are provided with clean clothes and referred for medical checkup.

The equipment should be set in a safe place. Care should be taken to prevent more trauma experience on the victim. The sooner the action is taken after an accident, the better the outcome.




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