RE: give me your opinion

[Sharyn.Baker@UCHSC.edu]

Hi Joe,

I am a paramedic among other things. In my opinion, my safety is just as
important as rescuing a downed worker. Of course, we all make split second
decision and sometimes people do heroic things which are rather stupid from
a point of personal safety. But all people should be trained in this
specific scenario to don the respirator first. Of course, it must be drilled
in and the respirator immediately accessible and the tasks frequently
practiced. This is not a situation in which 30 seconds is likely to make a
difference to the injured worker but it could make all the difference to the
rescuer.

Practicing what and how to do something during an emergency will also make a
big difference. Just talking about it does not work.

The opinion of a skilled rescuer ........

sharyn baker
Instructor
Health and Safety Division
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Denver, Colorado


> ----------
> From: 	Archer, Joe
> Reply To: 	radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
> Sent: 	Monday, January 25, 1999 2:39 PM
> To: 	Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: 	give me your opinion
> 
> This is the scenario. A Pu-239 waste canister (Average content 16 grams,
> Max content 80 grams) burst open and knocks out a worker nearby. One
> viewpoint is that a person should run to the workers side without
> worrying about the potential airborne. A second viewpoint is that
> respirators should be located in the immediate vicinity of the work area
> and the attending person should take the 20-30 seconds required to don a
> respirator before attending to the injured party. The crux of the issue
> seems to be the weighted risk to the injured person of taking 30 seconds
> to get to the person versus the potential risk to the attending person.
> The first viewpoint assumes a 30 second delay is a greater risk to a
> person in need of CPR versus the risk of diving into the potential plume
> of a freshly burst container. The second viewpoint argues the need to
> weigh both risks and concludes that the potential airborne is a greater
> risk than a 30 second delay in attending to the injured party. 
> 
> So what viewpoint do you side with, one or two.
> 
> Thanx,
> Joe
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