Wednesday 24 February 2016

Importance Of Portable Decontamination Shower

By Jennifer Long


Contact with chemicals, radioactive substances and infectious materials cause a person to be contaminated. This causes a great risk to the health and life of a person unless immediate action is taken to remove the contagious material. In such cases it is necessary to use portable decontamination shower for remedy.

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.

These above reasons prompt the use of decon units. Some chemical manufacturing plants have their workers cleaned out before they leave the premise as a safety precaution. On top of providing the routine services, the United State department of Labor requires these industries to be equipped for emergency cases. Most companies have mobile decons for emergency situations.

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.

For effectiveness, the decon units should be set in the chemically exposed areas. They should be within reach by walking for about ten seconds. The process of decontamination involves three steps. The first part involves undressing and stripping. Then the casualty steps in the cleaning unit. For optimum results, the person should stay in the shower for at least fifteen minutes. In the last part, the person is given clean clothes and taken to the hospitals depending on the case.

This activity should be carried out in a safe environment. The comfort of the casualty is of importance to ensure no additional trauma happens. Immediate action is very vital to prevent more damage from accumulated toxins and spread of the chemical.




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