Abstract
Air-fed suits are used for protection from radioactive particulate contamination. Managing air-fed suit operations safely and efficiently involves complex interactions between people, personal protective equipment and work systems. The nuclear industry and the Office for Nuclear Regulation identified the need for clear guidance on the non-radiological aspects of their use, especially the management of ergonomic and physiological issues, including thermal stress. We describe the key principles that need to be considered when managing the ergonomic and physiological risks from air-fed suits, and how we can tailor these to different applications. The information gathered in our research confirmed that the safety of operations employing air-fed suits will depend on a unified strategic approach to design and usage. Detailed implementation of this strategy can be adjusted according to specific tasks and hazards. We explain that the balance between engineering and behavioural safety issues for air-fed suits is different for operational and decommissioning activities.
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Acknowledgments
HSL is very grateful to ONR and the industry stakeholders for their funding and very positive support during this project. HSL also thanks all its staff who contributed to this project, in particular Rhiannon Mogridge and Shirley Frost, and thanks the volunteers for the HSL physiological trials.
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Millard, C., Vaughan, N. & Webb, D. Developing guidance on the safe use of air-fed suits in the nuclear industry. Cogn Tech Work 15, 67–77 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-012-0220-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-012-0220-0