Nuclear Protection Suits and PPE

	Back to News Intro
	Translate This Page

Click here to receive
our latest Newsletter

New Generation PPE For The UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Programme

Provision of the right protective clothing is going to be a key factor in ensuring the successful achievement of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s £50 billion government remit to handle the clean up programme for civil nuclear installations including Sellafield, Dounreay and the Magnox Power Stations. A new generation of protective clothing or PPE, suitable for the workforce that is going to be involved in what will be one of the greatest nuclear decommissioning programmes of all time has been designed by Professional Protection Systems.

Better known in recent times as a supplier of decontamination systems to governments and emergency services worldwide (including the UK government the NHS and UK ambulance trusts) Professional Protection Systems was the first company to develop PPE for use in the new nuclear industry in the 1950’s and the specification established then has barely varied until the radical new suit solutions announced by the PPS design team now. “The founding fathers of our Company set to work during the commissioning stage. We realised that we were designing something for the other end of the cycle, for the decommissioning stage, so it had to be different.

Neclear Protection Suits

We decided we needed a range of suits to be worn by operatives working on what were essentially rather complex demolition sites consisting of high level, medium and lower risk decontamination areas. In other words different suits for each environment were going to be needed but they all had to be tough and flexible for the building site bit and for the decontamination bit mega-safe. They also had to incorporate simple, easily accessed, even under stressful conditions, “escape routes” from any situation that wearers might find themselves in.” he said.

Before going to the drawing board the PPS design team carried out a series of in depth consultations with the management and operatives of the companies scheduled to carry out the decommissioning work. Great emphasis was placed on dialogue with the individuals who actually wear nuclear suits to establish exactly what they were expecting from their PPE. “Obviously we didn’t just follow that slavishly but that dialogue was a good starting point. When you are setting out to design something it’s useful to know what is needed rather than what you think is needed”.

Everything right through to the material used in the design has been rethought. One of PPS’s strengths has always been in sourcing materials and state of the art accessories for its products. The result of this is that the company is one of the few manufacturers of PPE in the world that can now claim to have PVC material manufactured exclusively for its own use according to its own specification. The new PPS material has a higher decontamination resistance factor than the material normally used in nuclear suit manufacture whilst at the same time being eminently flexible and workable particularly in terms of its weldability. PPS also established in their discussions that besides purely practical considerations there is such a thing as fashion in PPE. For instance although PPS is firmly convinced that the future is a single piece suit there was evidently still a real demand out there for the two piece that has been in the frame since the 1950’s. “You can’t ignore what the customer wants. We are all reluctant to change the habits of a life time. Asking a PPE user to switch from a two piece to a one piece is like asking a man who has worn double breasted suits all of his life switch to a single breasted” he says.

Typical of the new one piece revolution is the PR (powered respirator) suit designed for decommissioning work in low level contamination areas. As the name suggests it does away with the need for an air line and therefore facilitates mobility. Like all suits used in nuclear decommissioning it is a disposable but costs have been saved by ensuring that the breathing systems are reusable, being separate from the suit, which is designed in such a way that they can’t get contaminated. A Scott Heath and Safety Proflow 2 powered respirator system which will supply filtered air to the suit via half or full face masks- according to preference. This is an intelligent system that knows how much air to inflate.
A revolutionary PPS design allows the suit to be connected to the blower with additional P3 filtration on the outside of the suit. This prevents it from becoming contaminated whilst a locking system holds suit filters to blowing filters.

The feature that stands out about PPS’s new standard air-fed two piece, designated the NU2 , is the new configuration of the hood and visor that gives an unprecedented degree of all round vision. To prevent reflection into the hood visor the back is made of natural PVC. Great emphasis has been placed by the PPS design team on creating the highest possible quality environment within the suit. This is achieved in part by features like two non-return valves in the back of the hood to ensure an excellent air flow. To minimise the dangers of decontamination still further these are covered by two PVC envelopes. These are so designed that should they get snagged during decommissioning activity they disengage from the suit without tearing it. The air inlet valve is located in front but off centre of the hood, so as not to obstruct the wearer’s vision and it is here that the emergency breather system is incorporated. It is easily activated thanks to the unique PPS cuff system which bands rather than tapes gloves to a sleeve. This means that the wearer of a suit can move hands and arms around inside a suit with great ease and immediately activate emergency breathing systems.

One of the most innovative of this new PPS generation is the Pro Combi air line fed full suit. Already ordered for operations at Dounreay. Entrance and exit from the suit have been made particularly speedy by the use of a horizontal zipper system, protected against contamination by a generous covering flap. A unique feature of the Pro Combi is its two “tails”. One tail offers a pass through for the air line and the other a pass through for the attachments of a safety harness which operatives often need to wear in decommissioning work.

Further ground breaking products are due to be announced soon by the PPS design team. This is because the company works as a batch producer rather than a mass producer and improvements, modifications and developments can continually be made as the result of the close monitoring of customer needs and experiences. “You have to remember that designing and producing PPE is very much like the fashion business in the sense that you have to keep closely attuned to the needs of the market all the time- it’s your only hope of supplying what is needed”. In fact PPS have somewhat developed the fashion-image and he and his team are currently embarked on a series of presentations to all those involved in the decommissioning programme, hands-on and hands-off showing the new PPS range off on the equivalent of the cat-walk

PROFESSIONAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS, Protection House, Sherbourne Drive, Tilbrook, Milton Keynes, Bucks, ENGLAND. MK7 8HX
Tel: +44 (0) 1908 272240 - Fax : +44 (0) 1908 371605 - Email: sales@ppsgb.com
Registered in the United Kingdom - Registration Number 4494024

E-mail This Page to a Colleague / HOME / PRODUCTS / SEVICES / CONTACTS / SUPPORT/ NEWS / OPPORTUNITIES / EXTRANET