PC incident at Oak Ridge

[GEORGE CICOTTE <GEORGE_CICOTTE@health.ohio.gov>]

     I think this is an important issue that I haven't seen addressed in 
     many years.  There are American National Standards Institute standards 
     for protective clothing, including fire resistance, etc.  One of the 
     issues is how to clean protective clothing and how or how often to 
     restore fire resistance to materials which lose this capability 
     through cleaning.  I don't know how Oak Ridge cleans their PCs, but 
     the description seems to indicate that this clothing was more 
     flammable than expected.  IMO, this could easily be due to the manner 
     of cleaning, both from the aspect of any retardent being removed 
     during cleaning, and cleaning material residues.  Dry-cleaning of PCs 
     is often more cost-effective, and for many contaminants more 
     chemically effective, but if not done properly can leave flammable 
     residues in the clothing.  I know I smelled the "lighter fluid" on 
     many a pair of PCs while generator diving or crawling around in pipe 
     trays, etc., while the arc-cutters were doing their thing.
     
     V/R
     GRCicotte
     george_cicotte@health.ohio.gov.us
     ============================
     Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 16:49:28 -0500
     From: Joyce Davis <JOYCED@DNFSB.GOV>
     Subject: Protective Clothing flammability
     
     . . . an employee at Oak Ridge was fatally burned while using a
     cutting torch . . . flammability of cotton and other anti-c clothing 
     normally used in industrial facilities. . . Where can further 
     information on this subject be found ?  It seems this issue will arise 
     more and more as nuclear and radiological facilities are demolished.  
     Are there standards committees wortking on such issues ? . . . 
     
     ==============================
     From: Doug Turner <turners@earthlink.net> . . . . both Oyster Creek 
     and TMI used a protective clothing spec that included flammability for 
     cloth coveralls. . . . Welders also had to wear leathers, because 
     cloth coveralls would smoulder even though they would not sustain 
     combustion. . . . There was some legislation about clothing 
     flammability and the industry cleaned up its act somewhat, so everyone 
     may have thought the problem was solved. GPU should have the 
     specifications and test results on file.
     
     Doug Turner <turners@earthlink.net>