Exposure Suit Inspection Procedures
Dinning Notebook
The use of exposure suits at hazardous material incidents often will be the most difficult and traumatic part of your team’s operational efforts. The encapsulation of the human body in the confines of these suits while expecting peak performance from each member on the fireground requires much training and discipline.
When exposure suits are purchased, an identification system should be devised. This system, in conjunction with a control chart, will allow for streamlined record keeping for your hazardous material unit.
A suggested exposure suit identification system should include:
- The type of material that the suit is made of.
- The year of its purchase.
- A numerical sequence.
For example, if you purchase six butyl rubber suits in 1985, you would assign identification (ID) numbers BR 8501 through BR 8506. If your department then decides to purchase six PVC (polyvinyl chloride) exposure suits in 1986, you would assign numbers PVC 8601 through PVC 8606. These ID numbers should be placed on both the outside and the inside of the exposure suits. This will provide easier access to the numbers and, if the suits are contaminated, it will require less manipulation and exposure to ascertain an obscure number for record keeping.
Each suit should have a folder or card containinga detailed record of each use, decontamination procedure, and test.
This exposure suit record card should be part of your filing system.
Suits should be stored according to each manufacturer’s recommendation. We found that for those manufacturers who had no specific recommendations, old SCBA boxes served our storage purposes very well.
Post-decontamination tests that should be conducted for new and used hazardous material exposure suits:
- Inflation test
- Fluorescent lamp test
- CO reading test
An overall control board should be constructed to show at a glance the locations of all exposure suits in your department. Location categories that could be used on the board might include:
- On apparatus
- Repair
- Decontamination
- Training
- Removed from service
- Other
Exposure suits that were used at hazardous material incidents must be painstakingly examined and tested before they are placed back into service. It is recommended that those members who will eventually be wearing the exposure suits at future operations should be responsible for this process. This equates with the parachutist who packs his own chute.
After the exposure suits have been decontaminated, they must be dried thoroughly and hung to allow a free flow of air. As soon as the outside of the suit is dry, it should be turned inside out to complete this process.
Towelling can be used to speed up the drying process. However, artificial means should never be used. This includes drying cabinets, hair dryers, radiators, etc. The damage that any of these artificial means could produce may completely destroy the integrity of the suit. If exposure suits are to be hung outside the building, avoid the following:
- In freezing climates, trapped water may freeze and tear the suit, or the material could become brittle and crack from extreme cold.
- In hot climates, avoid direct sunlight. This could cause softening of the material and seams.
Before the exposure suits are placed back into service, a series of tests should be conducted. These same tests should be conducted on new suits that are purchased before they are placed on the apparatus for use by your members.
The first test requires that the exposure suit be inflated. This will require that any openings in the suit be taped. Air pressure should be applied to allow billowing of the suit, but extreme pressures are to be avoided so that total failure of the suit does not occur. When the suit is inflated, a solution of soap and water should be applied carefully to all parts, with particular concern to the seams. Any indication of bubbling will indicate a leak, and this area should be marked with a piece of chalk or marking pen and recorded.
The second test requires the use of a fluorescent light on an extension cord. In this test, the lighted fluorescent tube is extended into the body and the extreme ends of the arms, hands, and legs of the exposure suit. This should be done in a darkened area or room to allow light to be observed coming through the smallest of holes. Such indicated areas should also be marked and recorded.
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The third test serves as both a test and a training program. This test requires the use of a smoke room, and, again, members who will be using the suits at future operations should be the people wearing the suits during this test.
A small smoldering fire should be started in the smoke room in a location away from the members in the suits. Each member should have a carbon monoxide meter affixed to his clothing on the interior of the suit. This type of meter looks like a thermometer and records any indication of carbon monoxide on filament paper. These meters can be saved as a permanent record for each suit. The members then don their exposure suits and masks and enter the smoke room. It is recommended that this test take not less than 30 minutes. Members in the room should remain active in the carbon monoxide laden smoke to allow for any leakage that may occur to do so.
This test allows you to graphically record any leakage and is also used as a confidence builder for the members of your hazardous material team. As members participate in this activity and accumulate many hours of testing time, you should see a marked improvement in the agility and confidence of your members assigned these suits at future incidents.
