Decontamination and contaminant processing system and method

A personnel decontamination and containment system having a plurality of components positionable on a selected location for establishment of a multi-station decontamination and containment facility to decontaminate personnel and to contain contaminates collected during the decontamination process, the plurality of components comprising:

• a plurality of collapsible frame assemblies movable between a free-standing extended position and a collapsed position, each frame assembly having a plurality of support legs interconnected by a plurality of cross members each cross member being pivotally connected at one end to a respective one of the support legs, and slidably connected at a sliding end to another one of the support legs, a locking member positioned to releasably engage the sliding end of a respective one of the cross members when the frame assembly is in the extended position;
• a collapsible roof frame assembly connectable to a first one of the shelter frame assemblies and having a plurality of support members each connectable to a respective one of the support legs of the frame assembly and coupled at an opposite end to the other ones of support members;
• flexible wall covers releasably attachable to the first frame assembly when in the extended position to form wall portions on the first frame assembly;
• a flexible roof cover releasably attachable to the roof frame assembly to form a roof portion positionable over the first frame assembly;
• a hanging bar assembly releasably attachable to a selected one of the frame assemblies, the hanging bar assembly including a pair of rails spaced apart from each other and removably attachable to the second frame assembly, and a hanger bar slidably attached to the pair of rails and being positionable to removably retain selected contaminated items above the ground;
• signage assemblies releasably mountable to a selected ones of the frame assemblies, each signage assembly having a containment member releasably attachable to the frame assembly, a flexible sign support connected to the containment member and being movable between a contained position substantially within the containment member and a deployed position extending downwardly away from the containment member and providing a substantially planar surface, and a signage member releasably connectable to the sign support when the sign support is in the deployed position;
• a cover dispensing assembly having a connection portion releasably connectable to a selected one of the frame assemblies, a roll support attached to the connection member, a roll of covers replaceably mounted on the roll support, the roll of covers including a plurality of serially connected covers separable from each other, and a separator member positioned to engage the roll of covers and facilitate separation of a cover from the plurality of serially connected covers, the covers being of a selected material substantially impermeable by contaminants that contaminate the items removed from the personnel;
• shuffle box assemblies positionable relative to a selected one of the frame assemblies, each shuffle box assembly having a collapsible frame with a bottom portion, interconnected sidewall retention portions connected to the bottom portion, and stiff sidewalls removably connectable to the sidewall retention portions to retain the sidewall retention portions of the collapsible frame in a raised position extending away from the bottom portion, the bottom portion, the stiff sidewalls, and the sidewall retention portions in the raised position forming a shallow box structure with an open top side that personnel can step into and being sized to retain a selected decontaminating or neutralizing material therein into which the personnel can step;
• a multi-wipe dispensing assembly comprising:
• a support base removably attachable to a selectable one of the shelter frame assemblies or the roof frame assembly;
• a plurality of dispenser compartments attached to the support base and spaced apart from each other, the dispenser compartments each having a dispensing aperture, the dispenser compartments being sized to receive a set of towlettes shaped and sized to fit within the dispenser compartment through the top aperture and being larger than the dispenser aperture, the dispenser aperture being shaped and sized to allow single towelettes from the set of towelettes to be drawn therethrough;
• a transportable containment enclosure shaped and sized to removably retain the frame assemblies, roof frame assembly, wall covers, roof cover, hanging bar assembly, signage assemblies, cover dispensing assemblies, shuffle box assemblies, and multi-wipe dispensing assembly, and being deployable as a unit to the selected location for establishment of a multi-station decontamination and containment facility.

A personnel decontamination and containment system having a plurality of components positionable on a selected location for establishment of a multi-station decontamination and containment facility to decontaminate personnel and to contain contaminates collected during the decontamination process, the plurality of components comprising:

• a collapsible shelter assembly having a shelter frame and shelter coverings removably attachable to the shelter frame;
• a plurality of collapsible station frames manually movable between a collapsed position and a free-standing extended position, each frame assembly having a plurality of support legs interconnected by a plurality of cross members;
• a hanging bar assembly releasably attachable to a selected one of the station frames, the hanging bar assembly including a pair of spaced apart rails removably attachable to the second frame assembly, and a hanger bar slidably attached to the pair of rails and being positionable to removably retain selected contaminated items above the ground;
• a cover dispensing assembly having a connection portion releasably connectable to a selected one of the station frames, a roll support attached to the connection member, a roll of covers replaceably mounted on the roll support, the roll of covers including a plurality of serially connected covers separable from each other, and a separator member positioned to engage the roll of covers and facilitate separation of a cover from the plurality of serially connected covers, the covers being of a selected material substantially impermeable by contaminants that contaminate the items removed from the personnel;
• shuffle box assemblies positionable relative to a selected one of the station frames, each shuffle box assembly having a collapsible frame with a bottom portion, interconnected sidewall retention portions connected to the bottom portion, and stiff sidewalls removably connectable to the sidewall retention portions to retain the sidewall retention portions of the collapsible frame in a raised position extending away from the bottom portion, the bottom portion, the stiff sidewalls, and the sidewall retention portions in the raised position forming a shallow box structure with an open top side that personnel can step into and being sized to retain a selected decontaminating or neutralizing material therein into which the personnel can step;
• a multi-wipe dispensing assembly comprising:
• a support base removably attachable to a selectable one of the shelter station frames or the roof frame assembly;
• a plurality of dispenser compartments attached to the support base and spaced apart from each other, the dispenser compartments each having a dispensing aperture, the dispenser compartments being sized to receive a set of towlettes shaped and sized to fit within the dispenser compartment through the top aperture and being larger than the dispenser aperture, the dispenser aperture being shaped and sized to allow single towelettes from the set of towelettes to be drawn therethrough;
• free-standing, collapsible garment stands each with a pair of support legs movable between a collapsed position and an extended position, a plurality of retention members attached to the support legs, and stabilizing legs pivotally attached to the support legs and being movable between a collapsed position and an extended, stabilizing position, the retention members being positioned to releasably retain contaminated items above the ground when the garment stand is in the extended position;
• and
• a transportable containment enclosure shaped and sized to removably retain the shelter assembly, station frames, hanging bar assembly, cover dispensing assemblies, shuffle box assemblies, and multi-wipe dispensing assembly, and being deployable as a unit to the selected location for establishment of the multi-station decontamination and containment facility.

A systematic decontamination and containment method for decontaminating personnel, comprising:

• providing a multi-component decontamination and containment system in a transportable container to a selected location;
• deploying the decontamination and containment system on the selected location and forming a series of sequential decontamination stations, a plurality of the stations include a collapsible station frame assemblies, the system being deployed manually without requiring tools to form the stations;
• receiving contaminated or potentially contaminated personnel at a first station;
• providing visible information to the personnel relating to the decontamination process at one of the stations, the visible instructions being provided on a signage assembly releasably mounted-to a frame assembly, the signage assembly having a retractable sign support and the instructions being displayed on the sign support;
• evaluating contamination levels of the personnel;
• identifying whether the personnel has at least one of collectable external equipment and a firearm;
• confirming that the firearm is cleared of ammunition by attempting to discharge the firearm into a weapons clearing assembly that includes ballistic arresting material contained in a weapons clearing container;
• providing a shuffle box assembly containing a selected one of a dusting agent, a neutralizing agent, and a decontamination agent therein, the shuffle box assembly being positioned to allow the contaminated personnel to step or shuffle through the shuffle box assembly so the selected one of a dusting agent, a neutralizing agent or decontamination agent is applied to footwear of the personnel;
• moving the personnel to a plurality of separate selected stations for systematic removal of any headwear, outer garments, footwear, hand coverings, and undergarments from the personnel;
• removing the footwear and hand coverings from feet and hands of the personnel who were wearing footwear and hand coverings;
• dispensing clean, disposable plastic coverings shaped and sized to cover the feet and hands of the personnel;
• applying the clean, disposable plastic coverings onto the feet and hands of the personnel after removal of the footwear and hand coverings from the feet and hands;
• removing the clothing from the personnel after the clean, disposable plastic coverings are applied, the clothing being removed so that articles of clothing on the personnel closest to the ground generally are removed before the articles of clothing further from the ground;
• collecting the removed articles of clothing in collapsible hamper assemblies, on hanger assemblies, or on stands so the clothing is off the ground;
• and
• providing a plurality of disposable towelettes from a multi-wipe dispenser assembly, the multi-wipe dispenser assembly having a plurality of towelette dispensers spaced apart from each other and attached to a support base, the support base being removably attached to a selected station frame, each of the towelette dispensers having a set of towelettes therein, at least one set of the towelettes being moistened with a neutralizing or decontamination agent, the towelettes being dispensed sequentially through a dispenser aperture in the respective towelette dispenser for application to the personnel.

A systematic decontamination and containment method for decontaminating personnel, comprising:

• deploying a decontamination and containment system from a transport container to a selected location and forming a series of sequential decontamination stations, a plurality of the stations include a collapsible station frame assemblies, the system being deployed manually without requiring tools to form the stations;
• receiving contaminated or potentially contaminated personnel at a first station;
• providing visible information to the personnel relating to the decontamination process at one of the stations, the visible instructions being provided on a signage assembly releasably mounted to a frame assembly, the signage assembly having a retractable sign support and the instructions being displayed on the sign support;
• collecting from the personnel any external equipment carried by the personnel and hanging the external equipment above the ground on a hanging assembly mounted to at least one of the station frames;
• providing a shuffle box assembly containing a selected one of a dusting agent, a neutralizing agent, and a decontamination agent therein, the shuffle box assembly being positioned to allow the contaminated personnel to step or shuffle through the shuffle box assembly so the selected one of the dusting agent, neutralizing agent or decontamination agent is applied to footwear of the personnel;
• providing a wash tub assembly having a tub portion containing a dusting agent, decontamination agent or neutralizing agent for application to the personnel's hands and arms;
• moving the personnel to a plurality of separate selected stations for systematic removal of any headwear, outer garments, footwear, hand coverings, and undergarments from the personnel;
• removing the footwear and hand coverings from feet and hands of the personnel who were wearing footwear and hand coverings;
• dispensing disposable coverings shaped and sized to cover the feet and hands of the personnel;
• removing the clothing from the personnel in a manner to avoid contaminants on the clothing from contacting the skin of the personnel;
• collecting the removed articles of clothing in collapsible hamper assemblies, on hanger assemblies, or on stands so the collected clothing is off the ground;
• providing a plurality of disposable towelettes from a multi-wipe dispenser assembly, the multi-wipe dispenser assembly having a plurality of towelette dispensers spaced apart from each other and attached to a support base, the support base being removably attached to a selected station frame, each of the towelette dispensers having a set of towelettes therein, at least one set of the towelettes being moistened with a neutralizing or decontamination agent, the towelettes being dispensed sequentially through a dispenser aperture in the respective towelette dispenser for application to the personnel;
• and
• providing a shower assembly having a shower portion, a water supply source, and a gray-water collection area, and directing the personnel to the shower assembly.

A decontamination and containment method for decontaminating selected contaminated personnel, comprising

• providing a multi-component decontamination and containment system a selected container to a selected location, the decontamination and containment system including a plurality of collapsible station frame assemblies, collapsible roof frame assemblies, flexible shelter cover members, flexible roof cover members, tension cables connected to the frame assemblies, hanger bar assemblies connectable to the frame assemblies, doffing hooks, a signage assembly, containment hamper assemblies, a disposable-cover dispensing assembly, collapsible bench assemblies, collapsible table assemblies, a shuffle box assembly, an agent dispenser assembly, a multi-wipe dispensing assembly, a collapsible waste tub assembly, a collapsible weapons clearing assembly, a collapsible boot stand, a collapsible shower assembly, and a portable water heater, the system being transportable in the selected container as a unit;
• moving the collapsible frame assemblies each from collapsed positions to free-standing, expanded position with a plurality of support legs spaced apart from each other and interconnected by a plurality of cross members interconnected at one end to a respective support leg and slidably connected at an opposite end to another one of the support legs, each cross member being movable in a scissoring action as the respective frame assembly moves between the expanded and collapsed positions, each of the frame assemblies being movable being expandable to the expanded position and collapsible to the collapsed position without requiring tools;
• moving the collapsible roof frame assemblies from a collapsed position to an expanded position and removably attaching the collapsible roof frame assemblies to a respective one of the frame assemblies to form a shelter structure;
• positioning the frame assemblies in the free standing, expanded positions on the selected location in a spaced apart configuration to define a plurality of decontamination stations;
• removably attaching the flexible shelter cover members to the shelter structure to form shelter walls;
• removably attaching the flexible roof cover members to the roof frame assembly to form a shelter roof on the shelter structure;
• removably attaching a hanger bar assembly to one of the frame assemblies, the hanger bar assembly including a pair of rails spaced apart from each other and each removably attached with a connector hook to a cross member portion of the frame assembly, and a hanger bar slidably attached with a plurality of slide connectors to the spaced apart rails, the hanger bar being retained at a selected orientation above the ground, and the hanger bar being positioned to removably receive a plurality of the doffing hooks thereon;
• positioning a weapon clearing assembly at a selected one of the stations, the weapon clearing assembly includes a ballistically protected container that contains and an assembly of armor plate material contained in a plurality of layers of composite material forming a structure for stopping a projectile discharged from a gun or other selected weapon;
• positioning a weapon storage assembly at a selected one of the stations, the weapon storage assembly having a cabinet box, a plurality of panels slidably mounted in the cabinet box, a plurality of gun holsters removably mounted on the panels, and a plurality of clip holders removably mounted on the panels;
• attaching the signage assembly to one of the shelter structures, the signage assembly including a containment member releasably attachable to the shelter frame assembly of the one of the shelter structures, a backing sheet connected to the containment member and being movable from a contained position substantially contained within the containment member to a deployed position extending away from the containment member and providing a substantially planar surface, and a signage member releasably connected to the backing sheet and substantially planar when the backing sheet is in the deployed position;
• attaching the disposable-cover dispensing assembly to the shelter frame assembly of one of the shelter structures, and the disposable-cover dispensing assembly including a support member removably attached with connection hooks to a cross member of the shelter frame assembly of the one of the shelter structures, a roll support attached to the support member, a roll of a plurality of interconnected disposable coverings separable from each other, the roll being replaceably mounted on the roll support and positioned to allow for dispensing of the bags, and a separator member connected to the support member and positioned adjacent to the roll to engage the disposable coverings for separation of a disposable covering from the plurality of interconnected bags;
• connecting the containment hamper assembly to a frame assembly of one of the shelter structures, the containment hamper assembly having a hamper bag with an open top end and a closed bottom end, and first and second hamper portions removably connected to each other to provide at least two separate hamper compartments, and a plurality of support straps attached to the hamper bag and removable connectable to the frame assembly, the hamper bag being positionable to receive selected items into the hamper bag through the open top end when the hamper bag is attached to the frame assembly;
• positioning a shuffle box assembly adjacent to a selected one of the frame assemblies, the shuffle box assembly having a collapsible bladder assembly with a bottom portion, interconnected sidewall portions connected to the bottom portion, and stiffeners removably connected to the sidewall portions to support the sidewall portions in a raised position extending away from the bottom portion, the bottom portion and sidewall portions in the raised position forming box structure with an open top side to retain selected material within the box structure and to allow a user to step into the box structure and into the selected material before entering the shelter structure;
• positioning a collapsible wash tub assembly adjacent to one of the frame assemblies, the collapsible wash tub assembly having a collapsible stand movable between collapsed and extended positions, and a wash tub removably mountable on the stand when the stand is in the extended position;
• connecting the agent dispenser assembly to one of the shelter structures, the agent dispenser assembly having a base portion, connection mechanisms attached to the base portion and releasably connectable to the frame assembly or the roof frame assembly, a holster portion connected to the base portion, and a dispenser container removably retained in the holder portion, the dispenser container shaped and sized to contain a decontaminating or neutralizing agent therein and having a dispensing portion through which the decontaminating or neutralizing agent can be dispensed, the holster portion retaining the dispenser container in a selected orientation allowing the decontaminating or neutralizing agent to be dispensed from the dispenser container while remaining in the holster portion,
• connecting the multi-wipe dispensing assembly to one of the shelter structures, the multi-wipe dispensing assembly having:
• a support base, a plurality of connection members attached to the base portion and removably attachable to the frame assembly or the roof frame assembly,
• a plurality of dispenser compartments attached to the support base and spaced apart from each other, the dispenser compartments having a dispensing aperture, a top aperture and a cover flap positioned to cover the top aperture,
• a first set of wipes removably retained in a first one of the dispenser compartments, the first set of wipes being moistened with a one of a neutralizing and decontamination agent, the first set of wipes being shaped and sized to fit within the first one of the dispenser compartments through the top aperture and being larger than the dispenser aperture, the dispenser aperture being shaped and sized to allow pre-moistened wipes from the plurality of the first set of wipes to be drawn therethrough in series for application to the personnel;
• a second set of wipes removably retained in a second one of the dispenser compartments, the second set of wipes being moistened with water, the second set of wipes being shaped and sized to fit within the second one of the dispenser compartments through the top aperture and being larger than the dispenser aperture, the dispenser aperture being shaped and sized to allow water-moistened wipes from the plurality of the second set of wipes to be drawn therethrough in series for application to the personnel;
• a third set of wipes removably retained in a third one of the dispenser compartments, the third set of wipes being dry wipes, the third set of wipes being shaped and sized to fit within the third one of the dispenser compartments through the top aperture and being larger than the dispenser aperture, the dispenser aperture being shaped and sized to allow dry wipes from the plurality of the third set of wipes to be drawn therethrough in series for application to the personnel;
• closure members retained adjacent to the first, second and third dispenser compartments and each being movable from a closed positioned covering the dispenser aperture in the respective first, second and third dispenser compartments, and an open position spaced apart from the dispenser aperture in the respective first, second and third dispenser compartments;
• and
• a plurality of holster portions connected to the base portion, and dispenser containers removably retained in respective ones of the holder portions, the dispenser container shaped and sized to contain one of a selected dusting agent, neutralizing agent, and decontamination agent, and having a dispensing portion through which the selected dusting agent, neutralizing agent, or decontamination agent can be dispensed, the holster portion retaining the dispenser container in a selected orientation allowing the dusting agent, neutralizing agent, or decontamination agent to be dispensed from the dispenser container while remaining in the holster portion;
• and
• positioning a fan assembly in a selected one of the frame assemblies, the fan assembly having a fan frame, a fan attached to the fan frame, and fan connectors that removably attach the fan assembly to the frame assembly or the roof frame assembly.