Protective Clothing - doe-std-1136-20040098

DOE-STD-1136-2004

Guide of Good Practices for Occupational Radiological Protection in Uranium Facilities

Monitoring of shoes, clothing, and hands should be required prior to leaving a work station where

uranium or uranium contaminated material was handled. Following routine work, self-monitoring upon exit

is usually considered adequate if the person has received proper training in the use of the instrument

provided. The instrument should clearly detect an unacceptable level of contamination.

After performing work that involves a high potential for intake of radioactive material, an RCT

should perform exit monitoring of the worker.

After performing work that, in retrospect, involved a high potential for intake of radioactive material,

each worker should provide a swipe of the nasal passages, to be counted immediately. If respiratory

protection was worn, there is no need for nasal swipes unless a breach of the respirator seal is suspected. If

facial contamination is detected during the exit contamination monitoring, a nasal swipe should be taken

and counted immediately. Chapter 5 provides guidance on the actions to be taken if a nasal swipe is

positive.

4.3.3 Protective Clothing

Various types of protective clothing, including laboratory coats, shoe covers, gloves, coveralls,

plastic or rubber suits, and air-purifying or atmosphere-supplying respiratory protective equipment, may

be required for operations with transuranic radionuclides. The use of company-issue shoes and clothing

for employees with work assignments in process areas can be a major aid in contamination control. Some

facilities are using disposable anti-contamination clothing. This may be a cost savings from a handling

standpoint. However, disposal costs must be considered.

4.3.4 Respiratory Protection

While every attempt should be made to control uranium hazards utilizing physical design features,

including engineering controls, the use of respiratory protection is an essential part of the radiological

control program.

As with personnel protective equipment, respiratory equipment utilized must also provide protection

from the full range of airborne hazards that may be encountered in the work environment. For example, a

uranium metal machining operation may have both an airborne uranium oxide hazard and an airborne

hazard from solvent vapors. The respirator utilized must be effective for both types of hazard. Also, one

airborne contaminant may interfere with the effectiveness of the canister in an air-purifying device that is

designed for a different contaminant. For example, a corrosive gas, such as hydrofluoric acid (HF), may

attack a HEPA filter and render the filter ineffective. It is important to coordinate the use of respiratory

protection requirements with other health protection groups. The respiratory protection program should also

be in compliance with ANSI Standard Z88.2, American National Standard for Respiratory Protection

(ANSI 1992) requirements. In specifying respirators for various applications, one should always know the

applicable protection factors to determine that the range of hazard that may be encountered will be covered.

While the specification of respiratory protection should normally be made a result of personal and/or area

sampling results, the use of respirator guides based on surface contamination monitoring results is also

acceptable.

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