In hazardous waste remediation and chemical spill response, workers wear Level B chemical protective suits (like Tychem or Saranex coveralls) with supplied air respirators. These suits are a fortress against lethal gases and liquids. However, the most dangerous moment of the entire operation is not when the worker is inside the hot zone; it is the moment they step out and try to take the suit off.
During the work, the exterior of the suit becomes coated in a microscopic film of highly toxic chemicals-pesticides, acids, or solvents. If a worker unzips the suit and pulls it over their head like a jacket, the contaminated exterior brushes against their face, neck, and hair. If they pull their arms out of the sleeves, their bare hands drag across the toxic cuff, instantly absorbing the chemical into the bloodstream. Secondary contamination during doffing is a leading cause of acute poisoning in HAZMAT operations.
The only safe way to remove a chemical suit is the "Sausage Roll" (or Roll-Down) Method, which ensures the contaminated exterior never touches the worker's skin or undergarments.
First, the worker must be assisted by a "buddy" wearing appropriate PPE. The buddy sprays the worker down with a decontamination wash to remove gross contamination. Then, the worker unzips the suit. With arms straight down, they use their thumbs to hook the inside of the suit at the shoulders and push the suit down. As the suit slides off the shoulders and down the arms, the worker rolls the contaminated exterior inward, trapping the hazard inside the roll.
The worker steps out of the legs, leaving the suit in an inside-out "sausage roll" on the tarp, with the relatively clean interior facing out and the toxic exterior sealed within. At no point should the worker ever pull a contaminated sleeve over their hand, and the suit must never pass over the head. If you doff a chemical suit like a piece of street clothing, you are wrapping yourself in the very poison you were trying to avoid.
