Nuclear Protection (N)

Clothing that provides total body protection in environments (workplaces and elsewhere) where particulate radioactive contamination may be present (full protection is guaranteed through the use of other PPE not necessarily integral with the garment itself, such as gloves or respiratory protection devices).
According to the available harmonised technical standards, protective clothing may be of the “ventilated” or “non-ventilated” type depending on the degree of protection that may be required.
The garments considered in this context are not intended to protect against ionising radiation or to protect patients against contamination by radioactive substances during diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedures.

Equipment intended to protect against particulate radioactive contamination must be designed so as to assure that the wearer is isolated from the surrounding contaminated atmosphere.

Protective clothing (PPE) must provide a barrier against radioactive dust through an effective tightness both of the materials making up the garments themselves and the assemblages (stitches, seams, joins, etc.) as determined by the different values of the Nominal Protection Factor (NPF).

Suits of the “ventilated” type (higher nominal protection factors) and “non-ventilated” type are available

When assessing whether Personal Protective Equipment is adequate for the type of hazard that needs to be protected against, particular attention should be paid to the types of clothing that do not provide protection to all parts of the body (hands, feet, breathing passages, etc.).

The responsibility for choosing, assessing and verifying the protection characteristics of the equipment necessary to assure the worker´s complete safety (it must meet at least the requirements and specifications of the clothing considered) is ascribed under current law to the end user (employer).