WO2001000278A2 - Decontamination of rescue and disaster workers using ozone gas - Google Patents

Abstract

A decontaminating system is disclosed for use by scuba divers, corpse removers, and rescue or cleanup workers to reduce their risk of infection and illness due to pathogenic microbes at the site of a disaster or crisis. This system uses a body suit (10) that can be pulled on over a wetsuit or other protective outerwear. During a disinfecting session, the suit (10) is coupled to an ozone generator or tank (20) by hose (24), which supplies a gas containing ozone at a concentration which can rapidly kill microbes, such as about 3% by volume. When the decontamination session is complete, usually within an hour, the body suit (10) is removed, and the wearer removes the sterilized wetsuit or other garment. The garment that has been removed is then placed with other equipment or tools in a tent-like enclosure, which is also filled with gas containing a microbicidal level of ozone, for additional decontamination of the interior surfaces that were not exposed inside the body suit (10).

Description

DECONTAMINATION OF RESCUE AND DISASTER WORKERS USING OZONE GAS

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to devices and methods for decontaminating people who have been exposed to an infectious environment or hazard, such as during rescue or corpse removal operations after a flood, airplane crash, or other disaster.

People who perform cleanup, rescue, or corpse removal operations at the site of a flood, mudslide, epidemic or outbreak, ship sinking, airplane crash, or other disaster or crisis are often exposed to highly pathogenic infectious microbes. As an illustration, it is fairly common for roughly half of the field workers in an organized rescue or corpse recovery operation to become ill within a few days after they begin working at the site. This high rate of infection occurs despite the best efforts of the rescue workers, and of their managers, organizers, providers, and team leaders.

Part of the problem arises from the fact that rescue workers and corpse removers often must work in wet conditions, either following a flood, heavy rain, or mudslide, or occasionally underwater, using scuba and similar equipment. Under such conditions, workers often wear protective garments; wetsuits worn by scuba divers are an example. If contaminated mud, sludge, or other fluid contacts a diver's wetsuit, then because of several practical factors (including the tight- fitting rubbery nature of wetsuits, which leads to various types of pulling, twisting, and rubbing that a diver usually goes through as he or she removes the suit) , a glob of contaminated mud, sludge, or other fluid almost always gets smeared across an area far larger than the original surface area contacted by the contaminant. This greatly increases the risk of infection and illness, and the risks remain unacceptably high, even if an assistant sprays, wipes, and cleans off the outer surface of the wetsuit on a diver who has just returned to the surface after an underwater operation involving corpses that have been dead for more than a day.

In addition, a wet suit that has been removed from a diver poses an ongoing hazard and threat of infecting anyone who subsequently happens to touch it or handle it. A better way needs to be provided for protecting rescue workers, corpse removers, and similar workers, against infection and illness caused by pathogenic microbes they encounter during their work. In addition, a better way needs to be developed for sterilizing and decontaminating protective garments (including but not limited to wetsuits used by divers, gloves, boots or socks, and raincoats or rainsuits made from either impermeable material, or water-resistant material such as a woven fabric coated with polytetrafluoroethylene) that are used in emergency or cleanup-type operations. Accordingly, one object of this invention is to disclose how a highly specialized device and system, which was developed in an entirely different area (which has no relation to rescue, corpse removal, or disaster cleanup operations) can be adapted and used for topical decontamination of the skin and outer garment surfaces of rescue workers, corpse removers, and disaster cleanup or recovery workers, so that they will be protected against topical and skin-mediated infections and illnesses caused by pathogenic microbes they are exposed to during rescue or similar operations. Another object of this invention is to disclose that a system for handling gaseous ozone, if designed properly and if adapted to the needs of rescue workers, corpse removers, and disaster cleanup or recovery workers, can provide a highly effective decontamination and sterilizing system for use in rescue and corpse recovery operations.

Another object of this invention is to disclose how two different subsystems, working together, can provide even better protection against on-site infection of field workers.

These other objects of the invention will become more apparent through the following summary and description of the preferred embodiments. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a disinfecting system that can be used by scuba divers, corpse removers, and rescue or disaster cleanup workers, to reduce their risk of infection and illness due to on-site pathogenic microbes. One component of this system comprises a body suit which can be pulled on over a wetsuit or other protective outerwear. The suit has a drawstring, elastic strap, or similar closure device around the neck (or around the face, if the suit includes a hood) , so that the head (or face) of the wearer remains outside the suit while the rest of the wearer's body (with the possible exception of the wearer's hands) is enclosed. During a disinfecting operation, the suit is coupled via a supply hose to an ozone generator or tank. The hose carries a gas containing ozone (0₃, also called "activated oxygen") at a suitable sterilizing concentration, such as about 3% by volume, which can rapidly kill microbes. Inflation of the suit to a pressure slightly higher than atmospheric pressure helps ensure that the entire surface of the wearer's wetsuit or other protective clothing is fully contacted by ozone. When disinfection is complete, usually in less than an hour, the body suit is removed, and the wearer removes the surface-sterilized wetsuit or other garment. The garment that has been removed is then placed (along with other equipment or tools) in a tent-like enclosure, which is also filled with gas containing a microbicidal level of ozone, to disinfect the wetsuit or other garment or equipment. After a shower, a worker who has removed his clothes can also have a second sterilization session in a body suit, using ozone to directly kill microbes on his skin. Inexpensive material is preferred for the suits, to allow a suit to be discarded after a limited number of uses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGURE 1 depicts a loose-fitting body suit with no hood, designed to fit over a diver's wetsuit or similar protective garment, coupled via a hose to a supply of gaseous ozone.

FIGURE 2 is a schematic depiction of a worker protection system for use at a disaster cleanup staging site, which uses a combination of (i) an oxygen generator; (ii) several ozone generators; (iii) an ozone body suit for outer-surface sterilization of a wetsuit or other protective garment before it is removed by a diver or other worker; and (iv) a tent-like enclosure for ozone sterilization of equipment such as tools, gloves, and wetsuits or other garments that have been removed from a worker.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings by reference numbers, number 10 in Fig. 1 refers to an ozone body suit, with a drawstring-type adjustable closure device 12 at the neck. The suit illustrated in Fig. 1 has no hood; however, hooded suits can be used if desired, so long as steps are taken to ensure that damaging levels of ozone (a highly reactive and potentially dangerous oxidant chemical) do not contact the eyes or mucous membranes in the mouth or nasal cavities, and do not enter the lungs.

Item 20 is an ozone tank, coupled to a regulator 22 that mixes ozone from the tank with air, to provide a mixture containing the desired concentration of ozone (such as about 3% by volume) . The regulator 22 is coupled to the body suit 10 by means of hose 24.

The system illustrated in Fig. 1 is known in the prior art, and is sold commercially by firms such as The Oxystore (Santa Monica, California) and Plasmafire (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) , and through Internet sites such as www.oxystore.com and www.oxytherapy.com. However, this system has never previously been used to protect rescue workers, corpse removers, or other people doing disaster recovery or cleanup work. Instead, this type of system was developed for the types of "New Age" or

"holistic therapy" that operate as alternatives to conventional medical treatment, without regulatory review by agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and apparently without the type of controlled scientific testing and proving that is required for FDA approval. Ozone therapy has been suggested by some as being beneficial in cancer therapy; accordingly, most ozone body suits are believed to be purchased and used by the same class of cancer patients who are attracted to Laetrile and other treatments that are frowned on by the medical establishment and regulatory agencies. Ozone therapy is also of interest to people seeking "life extension" technology which (they hope) will help them counteract the body's aging processes and live well beyond the age of 100. This fact is illustrated by the types of disclaimers that must be used by the sellers of such equipment, so that they will not openly violate the laws that govern medical treatments and devices. For example, as of June 1999, the Internet website at www.oxytherapy.com contains the following disclaimer for all products advertised on that site: "This area is for information only, and should not be considered as medical advice. It is supplied so that you can make an informed decision. Please consult with your health practitioner before considering any therapy or therapy protocol . " Similarly, the Internet website at www.oxystore.com contains the following disclaimer for its products: "This web site catalog is for information only. The statements herein have NOT been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products described are intended solely FOR INFORMATIONAL AND RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY. And are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Persons with any health related problem should consult a heath care provider for guidance. "

Accordingly, in distinguishing the current invention from the "holistic/New Age/anti-cancer" body suits of the prior art, three facts must be recognized:

1. Disinfection using ozone is not intended as a medical, anti-cancer, or anti-aging treatment of any sort. Instead, it is directly comparable to adding chlorine bleach to a bucket of mop water. Chlorine bleach and ozone both function as sterilizing and disinfecting agents, because they both are potent chemical oxidants, which randomly attack and oxidize proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and other biomolecules that are exposed on the surfaces of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other microbes. While a good cleaning, which uses bleach or anti-microbial soap added to a bucket of mop water, can indeed promote good hygiene and reduce the risk of infection and illness, that type of janitorial cleaning is not a medical treatment in any way.

2. To the best of the Applicant's knowledge and belief, ozone body suits have never previously been used to protect scuba divers, rescue workers, corpse removers, or disaster recovery or cleanup workers against infection and illness from the pathogenic microbes they encounter at disaster sites or other field locations. The use of body suits which use ozone to sterilize and disinfect the outer surface of wetsuits or other protective garments in rescue, cleanup, or corpse removal operations is believed to be completely new.

3. The method of using an ozone body suit to sterilize the outer surface of a protective garment in a rescue or disaster cleanup operation involves a different series of steps than the use of ozone body suits in "holistic/alternative/New Age" treatments. In "holistic" treatments, the person using an ozone body suit is instructed to remove all or nearly all of his garments, including underwear, so that the ozone can directly contact as much of the wearer's skin as possible and be absorbed by the skin, through the pores, into tissue and circulating blood. This is made clear by the following instructions, posted in the www.oxystore.com Internet site: "A warm shower prior to using the suit provides a relaxing beginning to the treatment AND ENSURES THE PORES ARE OPEN. The skin is now in a state MOST CONDUCIVE TO ABSORPTION. Slip into the suit ... and choose the ozone concentration of your choice. For the next 30 minutes to 1 hour YOUR SKIN ABSORBS THE OZONE AS YOU RELAX. This is a very popular way to obtain the benefits of ozone for both home users and in the medical clinic" (emphasis added) .

By contrast, in the current invention, the method of using an ozone body suit is entirely different. To use a scuba diver for illustration, a diver who is still wearing a wetsuit will use the ozone body suit for initial outer-surface sterilization, immediately after returning to a boat deck, dock or pier, or other staging site or facility. While still wearing the wetsuit, the diver will pull the ozone body suit on, so that it completely covers the wetsuit. Ozone is then pumped into the body suit to sterilize the outer surface of the diver's wetsuit. However, the ozone cannot reach and cannot sterilize the interior surface of the wetsuit, or the diver's skin. There will be little or no contact between the ozone and the diver's skin, because the skin is still covered by the wetsuit. Except in small areas (such as on a diver's feet, if he has removed his fins and was not wearing protective footwear) , there will be almost no contact of skin by ozone, and there will be no significant absorption of ozone into the skin or body fluids. By avoiding contact between the ozone gas and the face of the wearer, potential adverse effects of ozone on the wearer's eyes, mouth, and nasal cavity are avoided or minimized.

The initial sterilization step typically will require less than an hour, depending on the amount and thickness of any mud or other material that clings to the wearer's protective suit. After it has been completed, the ozone suit is removed, and the wearer then removes the surface-sterilized wetsuit or other garment .

Typically, the diver will then roll the wetsuit partially inside out, to provide maximal exposure of the interior surfaces of the wetsuit. The diver (or an assistant) will then place the empty wetsuit inside a tent-like enclosure, as shown in FIG. 2. This tent-like enclosure is then filled with a gas mixture containing ozone at a disinfecting concentration. If desired, the ozone level inside the tent-like enclosure can be substantially higher than in the body suit, for maximal sterilizing efficiency, since there will be no risk of skin contact or physiological damage inside the tent-like enclosure. This allows the interior of the wetsuit to be thoroughly sterilized, before the diver must put it on again for another dive.

After he (or she) has removed the wetsuit, a diver can then take a shower, preferably using an anti-microbial soap. After the shower, the diver can then climb back inside an ozone body suit while wearing few or no clothes, for a second sterilizing session, to allow the ozone inside the body suit to kill any remaining pathogenic microbes on the diver's now-exposed skin.

This series of steps (i.e., a session in a body suit to disinfect the outer surface of protective wear, followed by removal of the protective wear and a shower, followed by an undressed skin-disinfecting session in a body suit) can provide a very high level of protection against infection and illness for workers exposed to pathogenic microbes at field sites.

This level of protection can be increased even more if the body suits used in these operations pass through two stages of use. When a suit is new and clean, it should be used only for skin-sterilizing use, after a worker has already showered and washed, preferably with anti-microbial soap. After a limited number of skin-sterilizing uses (such as 10 or fewer) , the suit should be reclassified as a "dirty" sterilization suit, and should be used only for initial outer-surface sterilization of wetsuits or other protective wear.

Depending on the materials used, some types of ozone body suits can be washed, either in a conventional washing machine or using other methods. As such, a body suit can be cleaned and then sterilized, using an ozone charge that inflates the suit while no one is inside it. Inflating an empty suit (especially if high-concentration ozone is used) will ensure maximum sterilizing contact between the ozone and the interior of the suit.

It should be noted that inexpensive ozone body suits made of inexpensive lightweight material, costing a total of less than $10/suit, have been created for "holistic therapy" users. Such suits are generally preferred for disaster site sterilization purposes, since they will reduce the total cost of suits which are discarded after a limited number of uses.

The ozone supply system depicted in Fig. 1 uses a tank 20, which is filled with concentrated ozone, and a regulator 24 which mixes the concentrated ozone with outside air to achieve the desired concentration of ozone (usually about 3% by volume) . Although this type of system can be used if desired, it is possible and in most cases preferable to use an ozone generator to directly generate ozone, either from the atmosphere, or from a relatively pure or semi-pure oxygen (0₂) stream. Ozone generators (many of which use an electrical process called "corona discharge") are well-known and are commercially available from various companies listed in www.oxystore.com and www.oxytherapy.com. These devices for on-site generation of ozone avoid the high costs of purified ozone in pressurized tanks, and in remote conditions can provide a much greater supply over a span of days or weeks.

FIG. 2 depicts various components in a complete ozone- sterilizing system for use at a disaster site or similar location. The illustrated system uses an oxygen supply device 30, to provide a supply of semi-purified, enriched oxygen (0₂) , to enable more efficient generation of ozone. The outlet stream from oxygen supply device 30 passes through a hose 32 and a manifold device 34, which divides the 0₂ stream into at least 2 smaller streams.

A first oxygen stream, which passes through manifold outlet hose 40, enters a first ozone generator 42. The output from ozone generator 42 passes through hose 44 and enters a body suit 10, which is worn by a rescue or cleanup worker. Commercially available ozone generators developed for use in holistic therapy typically generate an ozone output containing about 3% ozone by volume; this concentration is suitable for direct contact with skin. For sterilization purposes, ozone concentrations in the range of up to about 5 percent (by volume) are generally acceptable, and can be even higher if the area and duration of skin contact are small.

The other oxygen stream, which passes through manifold outlet hoses 50a and 50b, enters one or more ozone generators 52a and 52b. If desired, these ozone generators can be used to generate relatively high concentrations of ozone for sterilizing equipment (gloves, tools, diving tanks, etc.) without contacting human skin. These ozone streams will be carried by hoses 54a and 54b to one or more tent-like enclosure devices, such as "ozone tent" 60. Inside each such ozone tent 60, at least one support rack 62 or similar supporting structure (such as a hammock-type sling) preferably should be provided, to allow the item(s) being sterilized to be lifted off the ground. This can help ensure maximum sterilizing exposure of the entire surface of an item to the concentrated ozone inside the tent 60.

The entire system disclosed herein has been designed, built, and tested by the Applicant herein, Douglas Copp, who is the Rescue Chief of the American Rescue Team International (www.Amerrescue.org). To the best of his knowledge and belief, it is greatly superior in all relevant aspects to any other disinfecting protective system that has ever been made available for protecting the health and lives of rescue workers and disaster cleanup and recovery workers. Its advantages include low bulk, low weight, and portability, so that it can be delivered quickly to remote sites; simple and rapid set-up; simple operational use that nearly anyone can be trained to master quickly; and very high levels of potent and effective reliability in protecting workers who are subjecting themselves to high levels of risk and danger in order to help the victims of disasters, floods, epidemics, and other crises.

The claims below use the phrase, "field workers at an elevated risk of infection". As used herein, this phrase includes non-medical workers who are carrying out the following types of operations:

1. rescue operations, which includes wilderness-type rescues, as well as operations at disaster or crisis sites where victims and/or survivors may be trapped and/or injured; 2. diving operations (including scuba diving, deep-sea diving, etc.) involving exposure to corpses, body parts, trapped survivors, or other situations indicating an elevated risk of skin-mediated infection;

3. cleanup or other recovery, repair, or restoration operations at the site of a flood, mudslide, earthquake, building collapse, or similar disaster or crisis, either manmade or natural; or,

4. cleanup up or other non-medical work which is done at or near the site of an infectious epidemic or outbreak. The term "field workers" does NOT extend to or include medical workers (physicians, nurses, physician assistants, etc.) and it does not refer to medical work, either at a hospital, clinic, or other medical facility, or at the site of a disaster, epidemic, or outbreak. As noted above, this topical sterilization method is not a form of medical treatment; instead, it is a form of cleaning and good hygiene, to reduce the risk of infection among a specific class of people who have subjected themselves to an elevated risk of infection in order to help others during or after a crisis or disaster. It is recognized herein that this invention may well be extendable to medical workers, and may well offer one of the best and most effective methods ever discovered for reducing the risk of infection among medical workers. However, in view of the known prior art, and in view of the fact that different professions often use very different practices, any such extension of this technology to medical workers raises questions that will need to be evaluated further, during detailed discussions with medical workers. For now, this invention has been developed by an experienced rescue worker who is quite familiar with the needs, practices, and problems of rescue workers and disaster cleanup workers. There is a strong need for expeditious and tightly focused work to ensure that such workers can begin using and benefitting from this invention as soon as possible, without distractions from questions about whether this same approach can and should be extended to medical professionals, who use more elaborate and sophisticated practices and procedures (and antibiotics and other chemicals) for disinfection and sterilization. A body suit as discussed above is referred to in the claims as a "gas-directing outer garment" or, for convenience, as an "outer garment". The suit does not need to be made of completely gas-impermeable material, so long as the suit can trap and hold, inside the suit, a sufficiently high concentration of ozone for a sufficient period of time to carry out effective topical sterilization inside the suit.

Similarly, any elastic, drawstring, hook-and-loop, or other conforming or adjustable device which is used to tighten and secure the suit around the neck or face of a wearer is not required to provide gas-tight compliance, so long as the suit as a whole can effectively hold gas inside the suit at a pressure slightly above atmospheric pressure, to maintain the suit in an inflated condition during a topical sterilization session. The provision of any of the following components in an ozone body suit designed for on-site topical sterilization as disclosed herein is optional: (i) a hood for enclosing the head but not the face; (ii) a hood which encloses the entire head including the face, but which is provided with a breathing tube or similar device so that facial surfaces can be disinfected without allowing concentrated ozone to enter the lungs; (iii) foot-enclosing components; and (iv) hand-enclosing components.

To restate this invention in claim language, in one preferred embodiment, this invention comprises the following method for reducing topical microbial exposure of a field worker who is at an elevated risk of infection due to pathogenic microbes at a field site: a. placing a gas-directing enveloping garment over the worker, in a manner which causes the gas-directing enveloping garment to enclose at least one piece of protective wear which is still being worn by the worker after completion of a work session; b. pumping into the gas-directing enveloping garment a gaseous mixture containing ozone at a concentration which is effective in killing microbes on topical surfaces; and, c. causing the ozone to remain inside the gas-directing enveloping garment for a period of time sufficient to kill microbes that are present on exposed surfaces of the protective wear being worn by the worker. After those steps have been completed, the worker can turn off the ozone supply, climb out of the body suit, remove his protective garment, and take a shower or otherwise clean off.

If desired, the worker can then have another ozone session in a body suit, with few or no clothes on, to directly sterilize his or her skin. Although this second ozone sterilization step is not an essential step in the process disclosed herein, it can provide an even higher level of safety and protection against infection.

This invention also discloses a complete system, which can be efficiently packaged in a relatively lightweight, easily- transported unit, to enable rapid delivery, setup, and use of ozone sterilization at a remote site, such as on a boat deck, or at a staging area near a disaster site. This system includes: a. a plurality of gas-directing outer garments, each of which is designed to allow initial topical sterilization of a worker who is still wearing at least one protective garment following a work session; b. at least one oxygen-generating device which can generate an enriched oxygen stream, using atmospheric air input; c. at least one ozone-generating device which can generate an ozone supply from an enriched oxygen stream; d. gas-carrying hoses for coupling the oxygen-generating device to the ozone-generating device, and for coupling the ozone-generating device to the gas-directing enveloping garments, in a manner which causes a gaseous mixture containing a microbicidal concentration of ozone to be pumped into at least one gas-directing outer garment during a session to topically sterilize the protective garment that is enclosed within the gas-directing outer garment.

Preferably, the complete system should also include at least one gas-directing outer garment which has never been used for topical sterilization of a protective garment. This "clean" suit will allow direct topical sterilization of the skin of a worker who has removed his protective garment (s) following an initial sterilizing session.

This system preferably should also include at least one "gas-holding enclosure" which can be coupled to an ozone generator. This will allow ozone sterilization of tools and other equipment, and of wetsuits or other protective garments that have been removed from workers. It has been found that camping tents are ideally suited for this purpose, for several reasons: (i) they are lightweight, highly portable, and easy to set up; (ii) they are packaged and sold in "kits" which have all necessary supporting poles, ropes, stakes, etc.; (iii) they are made in sizes which are suitable for use as described herein (tents designed to hold about 4 to about 6 people are preferred, to allow a high level of flexibility and adaptability at a remote site) ; (iv) they are relatively inexpensive, and can be discarded without undue expense after ozone oxidation damages the fabric to a point that reduces their effectiveness and utility; (v) they are made from fabric which has a good level of permeability for ensuring proper and steady flow of fresh ozone through the enclosed volume; and (vi) they provide enough "headroom" to allow a support rack to be used to lift and hold any tools, equipment, or garments that are being sterilized, to increase their surface exposure and improve the level of topical sterilization that can be achieved.

As used herein, terms such as sterilize, disinfect, and decontaminate are used interchangeably, and refer to killing or inactivation of microbes on accessible topical surfaces of garments, skin, or tools or other equipment. These terms do not require that an arbitrary numerical level of microbicidal activity (such as inactivation of at least a fixed percentage of all topical microbes) be achieved, so long as substantial microbicidal activity is achieved which reduces the risk of illness due to pathogenic microbes, which are likely to be present at the site of any disaster or crisis. As used herein, the phrase "crisis or disaster" includes any of the following which are sufficiently severe to require sustained and targeted efforts by one or more field workers to minimize subsequent damage, to recover the corpses of victims, to rescue one or more victims or survivors, or to protect against subsequent loss of or damage to human lives or property: (i) a flood, mudslide, earthquake, building collapse, or similar calamity, either natural or manmade; (ii) an airplane crash, boat collision or sinking, railroad accident; or oil or chemical spill on either land or water; (iii) a bombing, terrorist attack, massacre, civil insurgency, or similar military or civil clash leading to loss of human life; or, (iv) an outbreak or epidemic of a plague or other disease or infectious illness.

In general, the term "disaster" implies that numerous human lives have already been lost, or that major property damage which threatens the homes or livelihoods of a substantial number of people has already occurred. The term "crisis" implies an imminent future threat, and indicates that one or more people are likely to die or be maimed or infected in the near future, or that major agricultural or property damage will occur, if action is not taken as quickly as possible to prevent such results .

Thus there has been shown and described a novel system and method for using ozone gas to disinfect and protect rescue workers, disaster cleanup and recovery workers, and other types of non-medical field workers who are at risk of infection and illness due to hazardous pathogenic conditions. Although this invention has been exemplified for purposes of illustration and description by reference to certain specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, alterations, and equivalents of the illustrated examples are possible. Any such changes which derive directly from the teachings herein, and which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention, are deemed to be covered by this invention.

Claims

1. A system for providing ozone sterilization of topical surfaces on workers at a remote site, comprising the following components : a. a plurality of gas-directing outer garments, each of which is designed to allow initial topical sterilization of a worker who is still wearing at least one protective garment following a work session; b. at least one oxygen-generating device which can generate an enriched oxygen stream, using atmospheric air input; c. at least one ozone-generating device which can generate an ozone supply from an enriched oxygen stream; d. gas-carrying hoses for coupling the oxygen-generating device to the ozone-generating device, and for coupling the ozone-generating device to the gas-directing enveloping garments, in a manner which causes a gaseous mixture containing a microbicidal concentration of ozone to be pumped into at least one gas-directing outer garment during a session to topically sterilize the protective garment that is enclosed within the gas-directing outer garment.

2. The system of Claim 1 which also contains at least one gas-directing outer garment which (i) has never been used for topical sterilization of a protective garment, and (ii) allows topical skin sterilization using ozone for a worker who has removed at least one protective garment following an initial ozone sterilizing session.

3. The system of Claim 1 which also includes a gas-holding enclosure designed for ozone sterilization of topical surfaces of tools, equipment, and protective garments that are not being worn by a worker during sterilization.

4. A system for providing topical ozone sterilization of tools and equipment at a crisis or disaster site, comprising the following components: a. at least one oxygen-generating device which can generate an enriched oxygen stream, using atmospheric air input; b. at least one ozone-generating device which can generate an ozone supply from an enriched oxygen stream; c. at least one gas-holding enclosure large enough to hold a plurality of devices of the type used for disaster cleanup; and, d. gas-carrying hoses for coupling the oxygen-generating device to the ozone-generating device, and for coupling the ozone-generating device to the gas-holding enclosure, in a manner which causes a gaseous mixture containing a microbicidal concentration of ozone to be pumped into at least one gas- holding enclosure during a device sterilization session.

5. The system of Claim 4 wherein the gas-holding enclosure is created from a camping tent.

6. The system of Claim 4 wherein the gas-holding enclosure accommodates a support rack to lift and hold any devices that are being topically sterilized.

7. A method of reducing topical microbial exposure of a field worker who is at an elevated risk of infection due to pathogenic microbes at a crisis or disaster site, comprising the following steps: a. placing a gas-directing outer garment over the worker, in a manner which causes the outer garment to enclose at least one piece of protective wear which is still being worn by the worker after completion of a work session; b. pumping into the outer garment a gaseous mixture containing ozone at a concentration which is effective in killing microbes on topical surfaces; and, c. causing the ozone to remain inside the outer garment for a period of time sufficient to kill microbes on exposed topical surfaces of the protective wear being worn by the worker.

8. The method of Claim 7 wherein the outer garment does not have a hood, and the garment is placed over the worker in a way which leaves the worker's head outside the garment.

9. The method of Claim 7 wherein the gaseous mixture contains at least about 3% ozone.

10. The method of Claim 7 wherein the worker subsequently:

(a) removes the outer garment;

(b) removes at least one piece of protective wear, thereby exposing at least one skin surface; and,

(c) undergoes a skin-sterilizing session in which ozone is used to directly contact and topically sterilize at least one skin surface of the worker.