He learned of the excess material at the DOE site in 1996, when a contract employee at the SRS saw his research featured on CNN and approached him about the excess items. The worker, George Brodie, told Chesser about the 2,000 bags of uniforms and more than 3,000 respirators that were available. We wondered if we could find a way to give the materials to Chernobyl workers. The material includes white radiological uniforms. The Department of Energy, consistent with commercial and naval nuclear program standards, no longer uses white protective clothing for radiological work.
Yellow clothing is used instead.
Also available were full and half mask respirators. Although the equipment was in good condition, the standards for that equipment has also changed. During an August 1996 trip to Chernobyl to conduct research, Chesser took examples of some available items to administrators at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, where clean up from the 1987 reactor accident is underway. There Chesser inquired about their interest in the materials. When it was determined that they wanted the equipment, plans were made to ship the uniforms and respirators.