Abstract:
A mobile decontamination facility vehicle comprises two or fewer interior walls; the interior walls being seamless and defining an interior space. There is at least one removable partition that defines two decontamination areas within the interior space. The facility has a drain trough disposed centrally between the interior walls for removing waste water. A waste-water tank connects to the drain for holding waste water from the decontamination areas. A sump tank connects to the waste-water tank for receiving waste water from the waste-water tank by gravity flow. The sump tank has one or more sump pumps located inside it for pumping waste water from the facility to disposal.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention pertains to the decontamination of persons who have been exposed to hazardous substances, particularly large numbers of persons at one time.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    This invention relates to methods of decontaminating persons using decontamination units, and, in particular, a mobile decontamination unit that can be readily transported to an emergency site that presents hazardous materials.  
           [0003]    With the wide spread use of hazardous chemicals, and the possibility of chemical, biological, or nuclear terrorism, it is increasingly important to provide a mobile unit that can be readily transported to an emergency situation and can be easily used. Further, it may be necessary in the future to have a decontamination unit for any fire since many building materials contain toxic substances and accordingly it may be important for the fire and rescue personnel to go through a decontamination process before returning to their respective stations. The reader will appreciate that the decontamination unit might also be used by police departments, ambulance services, gas companies, work departments, environmental agencies, or transportation agencies since their personnel may also become exposed in emergency or even routine situations.  
           [0004]    Another difficult problem is how to avoid secondary contamination of the hospital in hazardous-materials emergencies; particularly the emergency room, when the hospital is overwhelmed with large numbers of persons suffering from contamination in a disaster. Thus, there is also a need for a mobile decontamination facility available to hospitals in an emergency.  
           [0005]    Some prior art references have recognized the need of decontaminating personnel. For instance, Shankman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,311, shows an intake facility for use in conjunction with a hospital emergency room. The facility is to provide a system to decontaminate individuals prior to an individual mixing with the existing emergency room facilities. This intake facility includes a room for bagging the patient&#39;s clothing, a first shower room where the patient is sprayed with a mixture of water and detergent, a second shower room where the patient is sprayed with water, a drying room and a triage room.  
           [0006]    Another device for decontaminating equipment and personnel is shown in Shankman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,256. This patent shows a mobile decontamination unit having a compartment for decontaminating personnel and a separate compartment for decontaminating equipment. The compartment for decontaminating personnel includes an area for the personnel to strip off their clothes and store them in bins, a shower area and a drying off area.  
           [0007]    Stewart, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,102, discloses a mobile decontamination unit having a means for maintaining positive air pressure in its shower compartments. Such complex arrangements are usually not needed, and add considerably to the cost of a decontamination unit.  
           [0008]    However, the prior art has failed to adequately address two important issues: a decontamination facility must be capable of being quickly and thoroughly cleaned of contaminants, and it must be adaptable to handling either mixed male and female subjects, or subjects of a single sex. Both thorough and rapid cleaning is only possible if the interior  1  space of the facility, including both wall and floors, has no seams, cracks or crevices that can retain dirt and contaminants. There is a need for a mobile decontamination facility that provides such benefits, and at a low cost.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0009]    A decontamination facility vehicle comprises at least one interior wall; the interior wall being seamless and defining an interior space. There may be at least one removable partition that defines two decontamination areas within the interior space. The facility has a single drain disposed centrally between the interior walls for removing waste water, and running substantially the length of the interior space. A waste-water tank connects to the drain for holding waste water from the decontamination areas.  
           [0010]    A sump tank connects to the waste-water tank for receiving waste water from the waste-water tank by gravity flow. The sump tank has one or more sump pumps located inside it for pumping waste water from the facility to disposal. The sump tank further includs a means for raising and lowering the sump tank, to allow gravity flow of waste water from the waste-water tank to the sump tank when the facility is in operation. 
       
    
    
     DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with the roof removed to show the layout of the interior space.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a cross-section detail of a preferred way to support the center partitions of the preferred embodiment.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the preferred embodiment.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 is a cross-section of the preferred embodiment, showing the flow of water from shower heads to the floor and into the drain.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the floor drain of the preferred embodiment, showing the flow of water from the showers to the drain. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a decontamination facility ( 100 ) constructed according to the invention. Such a facility ( 100 ) is most conveniently constructed on a trailer chassis, where the chassis has a steel frame supporting its floor and walls. FIG. 1 depicts a mobile facility, but the reader should note that the invention is not limited to mobile facilities, but also include fixed facilities.  
         [0018]    The preferred embodiment has an entry door ( 110 ) at one end for entry of contaminated persons, and one or more exit doors ( 120 ) at its opposite end. In the case where large numbers of people must disrobe, shower, and dress, it is most convenient to station a portable entry tent ( 180 ) and exit tent ( 190 ) at the respective entry and exit doors ( 110 ,  120 ).  
         [0019]    The interior walls ( 140 ) of the decontamination facility ( 100 ) define an interior space ( 160 ). The interior walls ( 140 ) are seamless along their entire lengths, thus eliminating cracks and joints where dirt or contaminants could lodge. The interior walls ( 140 ) are integral with the floor ( 145 ), thus forming one seamless interior from the ceiling to the central drain ( 300 ). Preferably, the interior walls ( 140 ) are made of fiberglass, although other non-porous plastics or composite materials could be used. In many emergency situations, it will be essential to rapidly clean the facility ( 100 ) and return it to operation as soon as possible. Seamless walls allow this to be done with pressure washing, without the need to manually scrub walls with joints or crevices.  
         [0020]    The preferred embodiment provides at least one removable partition ( 130 ) to divide the interior space ( 160 ) into two showering areas. In the preferred embodiment, the removable partitions ( 130 ) are four-foot sections of fiberglass-coated wood, although any relatively light-weight, non-porous material could be used. Shower curtains could also be used for the interior partitions ( 130 ). The partitions ( 130 ) are preferably suspended from the ceiling ( 155 ) on rollers ( 220 ). A conventional roller and hanger apparatus is shown in FIG. 2. This allows them to be removed or inserted to meet the demands of a given emergency. For example, in some cases, all contaminated persons may be of the same sex, and it may be faster to remove the partitions and send all of them to the showers. In other cases, where the persons are of mixed sexes, the partitions ( 130 ) can be installed to provide separated showering areas. Privacy curtains (not shown) may separate the exit area ( 170 ) and entry ( 110 ) from the showering areas ( 160 ).  
         [0021]    The shower heads are preferably mounted in the ceiling ( 155 ) of the facility ( 100 ) to avoid piercing the interior walls ( 140 ) and adding cracks or joints difficult to clean.  
         [0022]    It will be necessary to have wheels and thus wheel wells inside any mobile facility ( 100 ) (although were height is not a consideration, the floor may be above the wheels). This is taken advantage of in the preferred embodiment by shaping the seamless interior walls ( 140 ) to accommodate the wheel wells and provide benches ( 170 ) along the outside of the walls ( 140 ).  
         [0023]    As will be discussed later, all waste water runs from the interior space ( 160 ) into one centrally-disposed drain ( 300 ). The drain empties into a waste-water tank ( 200 ) beneath the floor of the facility ( 100 ), keeping in mind that the floor is an integral part of the seamless interior walls ( 140 ).  
         [0024]    An innovation not disclosed in the prior art is a removable outside tank ( 210 ) for stretcher victims. These persons may be washed by emergency crews in the outside tank ( 210 ), and the waste water from the outside tank ( 210 ) preferably drains by gravity to the waste-water tank ( 200 ) by means of a hose ( 260 ) connected therewith.  
         [0025]    The decontamination facility ( 100 ) will have a power plant ( 330 ) comprising a conventional electric generator (not shown separately) and a conventional means (not shown separately) for heating and mixing water for the showers ( 150 ). The power plant ( 330 ) would not be needed, of course, for a fixed installation where hot water and power hookups are available.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment with the ceiling ( 155 ) and partitions ( 130 ) removed. FIG. 3 shows how the interior walls ( 140 ) are joined at a central drain ( 300 ), disposed centrally between the interior walls ( 140 ) in the form of a trough ( 310 ) sloping in from each end toward the center of the decontamination facility ( 100 ), from where waste water is conveyed by a drain intake ( 205 ) to the waste-water tank ( 200 ). Also shown in FIG. 3 is a sump tank ( 240 ), connected to the waste-water tank ( 200 ), for pumping waste-water to disposal.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the preferred decontamination facility ( 100 ), showing the wheel wheels ( 270 ) defining the interior benches ( 230 ). FIG. 4 also shows typical interior structure, in the preferred embodiment, steel framing ( 290 ) supporting the seamless interior walls ( 140 ) and covered by an outside wall ( 135 ). FIG. 4 shows the sump tank ( 240 ) in its up position ( 240 ) and down position ( 245 ).  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 5 shows the flow of water downward from the showers ( 150 ), across the floor ( 145 ) and into the drain ( 300 ) defined by the drain trough ( 310 ). FIG. 5 also shows the tank ( 210 ) for stretcher cases and the flow of water therefrom to the waste-water tank ( 200 ). The adjustable sump tank ( 240 ) is connected to the waste-water tank ( 200 ) by a pipe or hose ( 260 ). For gravity flow, this tank must be lower than the waste-water tank ( 200 ). This is accomplished by raising the sump tank ( 240 ) for travel, and lowering it to a dropped position ( 245 ) when the decontamination facility ( 100 ) is parked and in operation. FIG. 3 shows a pivot ( 250 ) at one end of the sump tank ( 240 ) to allow for this travel. The sump tank ( 240 ) may be fixed in its travel position by any convenient means, such as brackets or hooks (not shown).  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the mating of the interior walls ( 140 ) and floor ( 145 ) and the center drain ( 300 ). The seamless interior walls ( 140 ) and floor ( 145 ) mate to the trough ( 310 ) defining the center drain ( 300 ). The overlap joint between the interior walls and the trough ( 310 ) is sealed by a sealant ( 315 ). This means the only seams in the decontamination facility ( 100 ) are below the walls ( 140 ) and floor ( 145 ), thus leaving the entire interior of the decontamination facility ( 100 ) seamless and easy to clean by washing into the drain ( 300 ). For safety, the drain ( 300 ) is preferably covered by a removable grate ( 320 ), having holes ( 325 ).