Hughes decontamination unit in action

04 September 2015

For over 45 years Hughes has been manufacturing safety showers, eye/facewash Stations, and decontamination equipment to a range of industries worldwide, giving them the tools they need to deal with some of the most dangerous situations imaginable. Chemical and biological contaminants can have huge, long term adverse effects, and when accidents happen it’s crucial to act quickly and decisively.

The CUPOLA® Decon 2 MD4 is a multi-purpose decontamination unit designed to be used by emergency services personnel, and is also suitable for the mass decontamination of the general public and equipment. Our CUPOLA® Decon 2 MD4 contains a showering system that be customised to suit individual requirements and with ancillary equipment such as water heaters, chemical inducers and containment systems.

A recent chemical leak at the East Sands Leisure Centre in St. Andrews saw these units being deployed in exactly the kind of situation they were built for. A quantity of gaseous sodium hypochlorite escaped from a plant room near to the swimming pool. The chemical is the active ingredient in bleach, and causes skin and eye irritation as well as breathing difficulties. 19 people were taken to hospital and local authorities arrived to eliminate the danger to the public.

Emergency Services evacuated and cordoned off the area, with the CUPOLA® Decon 2 MD 4 being utilised as part of the decontamination and clean-up process. To see the unit in action you can view the full story here and here.

With so many chemical agents in constant use around the world it is inevitable that accidents like this will happen. Whilst it is always advisable to take precautions to prevent dangerous situations from developing at all, it’s vitally important to have effective equipment on hand to deal with the aftermath when things go wrong.

At Hughes we have made it our mission to provide the best quality decontamination equipment to ensure that hazardous materials are contained, and that the professionals in the emergency services who deal with these incidents are as safe as possible.