Wednesday 24 February 2016

Importance Of Portable Decontamination Shower

Posted by Unknown at 14:07
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.

The latest equipments have sensors which get activated when a person steps under the shower area. These portable devices should have controlled air flow to prevent build up of vapours that are dangerous. The environment should be warm for the comfort of the casualty. The flow rate of water should be quite high. A decon unit should have stretchers for the non ambulant casualties.

There are many companies that manufactures decon equipments. The market has a variety to offer for the portable units. They vary according to the number of people that they can accommodate at a go, size, compatibility and ease of setting the unit up. The collapsible ones are easy to transport and store since most parts can be folded in.

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.

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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