Information On Portable Decontamination Shower

Contamination with harmful chemicals or infectious agents is a problem that can be experienced anywhere in this world. In most countries, it is a must that casualties be cleaned at the scene of a chemical accident. In emergency and routine care of chemical incidents, it is important to have portable decontamination shower. Immediate response is usually necessary to reduce the cumulative effect toxins.

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.

Industries that deal with toxic chemicals require their workers to decontaminate after work to avoid intake of the chemical by the body of the person and spreading it. This is done on a routine basis. However, the United States Department of Labor expects such companies to also have emergency services in case mass accidents occur. When an exposure occurs, the cleaning services are done on the accident site. Now the best option will be to have potable decons that can be set at a convenient spot and serve more people.

Decon showers are almost similar to the household ones except that the decon ones have bigger showerheads for maximum washout. They are made of steel bodies to ensure they are free of bacterial accumulation on the levers. For maximum cleaning out effect, there must be enough water that is clean in portable tanks. The water temperature must meet the ANSI safety regulations. It must be tepid.

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 many decon units a company can purchase or hire. Some accommodate only a single person while others can contain multiple persons. There are those that can be disassembled to small parts and set up again. Some are light in weight and others heavy. When purchasing, the number of casualty is the main determinant to consider and the ease of setting up the equipment.

Decon units are usually set in the scene of the accidents for ease of access by the victims and to prevent spread of the contamination. An emergency set up should be within a walking distance of ten seconds. The decontamination process is done in three procedures. First, the victim clothing is removed plus any other possessions on them. The second part involves the cleaning procedure. Large amounts of water are used. The person stays under the water for a minimum of fifteen minutes. Lastly, the person is covered with clean clothes.

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.