Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SHOWER
This disclosure relates to self-contained or "free-standing" emergency drench
or
deluge showers intended for use at sites where a mains supply of water is not
available.
Background
Site safety requirements at quarries, mines, major excavations, construction
sites,
oil field pipelines, large chemical plants or the like industrial sites where
workers
may be exposed to spillage of biological or chemical contaminants or hazardous
materials, require the presence of a walk-in water drench facility or deluge
shower.
Such a facility must be instantly accessible in any emergency and operate
automatically or with minimal action, such as using a pull switch, to deliver
a drench
of flushing fluid for a certain minimum period of time. The purpose of this
facility is
to rinse off any contaminants or hazardous materials from a worker who has
suffered a spillage upon the person as quickly and completely as possible.
Since the need for this safety measure is most often at a site where a
guaranteed
water supply cannot be economically installed, the most commonly used
traditional
designs rely on gravity feed of water from an overhead elevated tank. Due to
the
need to operate for a minimum period of time, it is important to have a
reserve of
sufficient water. Furthermore, in order to lessen the shock of a deluge or
drench of
water upon a person, and to ensure that the person remains under the water for
an
adequate period to rinse off the contaminating hazardous material it is
important
that the water is neither too cold nor too hot. Therefore there is also a
requirement
for the water to be "tepid" which makes water temperature control an essential
consideration.
Current regulations such as the ANSI standards and their equivalents indicate
that a
suitable installation would be capable of delivering 75 litres per minute of
tepid
water, for example in the range of about 16 C to 25 C for a minimum period of
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minutes. Therefore, a source of power to heat that volume of water
sufficiently has
become necessary in cold climates, or conversely in hot climates it may be
necessary
to cool the water, for example by use of heat exchangers or other forced
cooling
means. Usually, the current designs of emergency drench shower require large
tanks accommodating up to about 2000 litres to be located over 2 metres above
the
shower head.
Installing such a cumbersome facility provides logistical problems including
transport and on-site preparation for erection of the facility. Typically, the
site is
found to be unsuitable for erection of any structure, requiring the first step
of
installing a concrete base to which the structure required can be fixed. Even
if these
difficulties are overcome such a facility has a high centre of gravity making
stability
in high winds a safety concern.
Summary
The present disclosure relates to a walk-in emergency shower enclosure having
an
accessible space for drench-washing of personnel with a flushing fluid,
wherein the
enclosure is defined at least in part by at least one side wall of a tank for
holding a
flushing fluid. A suitable flushing fluid discharge unit, which may comprise a
shower head, is provided over the accessible space for drench washing of
personnel
with a flushing fluid.
An acceptable flushing fluid in accordance with ANSI standards would be tepid
or
tempered potable water, or a preserved buffered saline or the like
physiologically
benign fluid such as is used for medical purposes. The latter would normally
be
used for eye wash purposes. Therefore for the purposes of drench washing,
which
requires high volumes to be delivered, a potable water would be typically
chosen
but a preserved water would be suitable also.
Broadly this disclosure relates to compact "wrap-around" tank designs wherein
a
central accessible space is designed to accommodate a person requiring
emergency
flushing of contaminants off the person. The central accessible space is
defined
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within the upright structure defined by the wall or walls of the tank for
holding
flushing fluid.
An emergency shower apparatus may comprise a tank for holding a flushing
fluid,
the tank enclosing a central accessible space for a person, a discharge unit
for
flushing fluid, the discharge unit being fluidly connected to the tank and
being
directed towards the central accessible space, a flushing fluid pump
operatively
connected into a conduit for delivering flushing fluid from the tank to the
discharge
unit, and a flow control mechanism for ensuring adequate duration of discharge
of
flushing fluid through the discharge unit.
The tank of the apparatus may be supported upon the ground directly or upon a
movable skid. In this way a low centre of gravity for the apparatus is
achieved.
Installation is easier due to there being no need to build an elevated support
structure to achieve a head for gravity feed, and a reinforcement of the site
to accept
such an elevated support to raise the tank to a height is avoided.
In embodiments the side wall of the tank defining the enclosure is
substantially "U"
or "C"-shaped, surrounding an occupant of the compartment except for a gap for
access/egress.
In a simple embodiment the shower enclosure has a rectilinear footprint, for
example the base may square. The shower enclosure of this embodiment is formed
with three upstanding side walls aligned with three sides of the square base
and
with abutting upright edges to form a sealed enclosure around the three sides.
The
upstanding side walls may be inner walls of a tank having outer walls, between
which inner and outer walls there is defined a volume for holding flushing
fluid. In
embodiments the tank may be assembled from a plurality of tank sections, each
having an inner and an outer wall and configured to be fluidly connected
directly or
indirectly to a flushing fluid discharge unit so that the overall volume
required for
the specified tank capacity of flushing fluid for emergency drench use can be
met by
the combined volume of the respective tank sections.
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In other embodiments a polygonal structure may define the enclosure having an
accessible space for drench-washing of personnel with a flushing fluid. The
polygonal structure may be assembled from a plurality of tank sections which
are
fluidly connected directly or indirectly to a flushing fluid discharge unit.
In an embodiment, the tank extends upwardly from ground level. The tank is
fluidly
connected with an elevated flushing fluid discharge unit for discharging a
flushing
fluid into the enclosure. In all embodiments the bulk of the tank is below the
height
of the fluid distribution means particularly the flushing fluid discharge
unit. This
configuration provides a stable structure by lowering the centre of gravity.
The
flushing fluid discharge unit may comprise one or more drench shower heads.
The
flushing fluid discharge unit may be positioned at a height exceeding average
human
height so that in use discharged flushing fluid achieves a downwards washing
effect
to remove contamination or hazardous materials from the person towards ground
level. The flushing fluid discharge unit may comprise at least one shower head
or at
least one spray nozzle fluidly connected to the tank by suitable pipework or
other
fluid distribution system.
In a preferred embodiment the shower is mounted on a movable skid base. The
skid
base may be formed to provide a shower tray with drainage facility and a fluid
trap
volume for capture of contaminated flushing fluid for subsequent safe disposal
or
remediation of the flushing fluid for recycling. Alternatively the flushing
fluid could
be recirculated through a filter to remove contaminants and return the fluid
to the tank
for reuse. This feature extends the operational use of the unit by continually
reusing
the fluid in the tank.
The skid base may incorporate a fluid separator, and may house filters for
removal
of contaminants.
An electric pump may be used to deliver flushing fluid to the flushing fluid
discharge
unit.
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An electric heater may be used to maintain an acceptable temperature of the
flushing fluid.
5 A renewable energy apparatus may be used to power the electric pump and
heater
at sites where an electricity supply is not available. A solar panel
arrangement
together with a charge storage device may be used for example.
An embodiment of the emergency shower will now be described with reference to
the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a known elevated tank shower;
Figure 2 is a view from the front of an emergency drench shower facility as
disclosed herein;
Figure 3 is a view from above the emergency drench shower facility
illustrated in Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a view from one side of the emergency drench shower facility
illustrated in Figures 2 and 3; and
Figure 5 is a view from the opposite side of the emergency drench shower
facility illustrated in Figure 4.
As illustrated in Figure 3 a walk-in emergency drench shower enclosure 10 is
constructed from three tank wall sections 11, 12, 13. These wall sections are
upstanding from the ground 100 (Fig. 2), and arranged to abut in a "C" or "U"
configuration (Fig. 3), wherein the three tank wall sections 11, 12, 13 have
inner
side walls 21, 22, 23 which together define an internal area serving as an
accessible
space for a person to stand for the purpose of drench-washing the person with
a
flushing fluid.
Referring to Figure 2, the standing area surface may be formed as a shower
tray 14
which is raised above ground level 100. The tray may cover a catchment zone 15
which may be a sufficient volume within a bunded pallet for containment of
contaminated flushing fluid to be subsequently remediated such that
contaminants
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can be safely disposed of within recommended regulations and recommendations
for safe environmental practices.
An overhead flushing fluid discharge unit 30 is positioned centrally and fed
by a
flushing fluid delivery conduit 29 and riser 28. An electrically powered fluid
pump
27 is provided to deliver flushing fluid to the overhead flushing fluid
discharge unit
30. The flushing fluid discharge unit 30 may comprise a large diameter shower
head
26, or multiple nozzles, for drenching a person with flushing fluid.
Each tank wall section 11, 12, 13 provides a reservoir volume for a flushing
fluid,
which volume is confined between inner wall 21, 22, 23, and outer wall 31, 32,
33
surfaces, and is substantially below the height of the flushing fluid
discharge unit.
A flushing fluid flow maintenance ("stay open" type) and level control system
which
may include a float and link arm assembly may be included within at least one
of the
tank wall sections 11, 12, 13.
An electric heater may be installed to moderate the temperature of the
flushing
fluid. Alternatively a heat exchanger may be utilised for the same purpose.
The emergency drench shower enclosure 10 may be skid mounted for transport and
ease of deployment with instant operational capability.
In embodiments a renewable energy system for delivering electrical power would
be operatively associated with the emergency drench shower. The use of solar
panels, or wind power devices, with associated charge storage devices is
contemplated.
