US patent issued for protective suit

Published: 20-Jan-2011

Pumps filtered air into the suit while forcing hot air out

US technology company Radium Incorporated has been issued a patent (No. 7,832,396) from the US Patent and Trademark Office for a high airflow-powered air purifying anti-contamination suit.

The suit protects wearers from contaminants while keeping them cool in hot working environments such nuclear power plants. It also provides worker mobility since it does not require any hoses or external breathing air sources.

“For decades, nuclear workers had no choice but to wear anti-contamination suits that were extremely hot and did not provide adequate protection from rips and tears. We developed a suit with a cooling system that pumps a large volume of filtered air (HEPA) into the suit while forcing the hot air out,” said Cam Abernethy, president of Radium Incorporated.

The ensemble has been pilot tested at several nuclear power plants, for example in a steam generator nozzle dam installation, sponge basting operations, reactor cavity decontamination activities, and several other applications.

The National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) is developing a standard for Air-fed Ensembles (42 CFR Part 84), which would include powered air-purifying ensembles such as Radium’s product.

Radium Incorporated is seeking potential partners to license, market, or sell the suit across a range of industries.

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