Day 3 of the HAZWOPER - HAZMAT 40 hour class. HAZWOPER stands for Hazardous Waste Operations Emergency Response and "hazmat" is short for hazardous materials.Day 3 was our introduction to PPE (personal protective equipment) how to take it on and off, this includes full hazardous waste resistant suits, head gear, chemical resistant gloves, safety goggles, etc... we prepared for the final test a bit, and talked about the various methods chemicals and poisons can permeate or absorb through PPE as it ages. We also discussed, respiratory protection, types of respirators. We also went over DECON (decontamination) of ourselves after we are involved in any cleanup, or working with contaminated objects, animals, etc... DECON consists of a few basic steps but is very important when dealing with hazardous waste... you dispose of or rinse tools, degrease yourself while in suit, then rinse yourself from top down, remove suit, then outergloves, remove respirator, then inner gloves and boots and so on. took a lot of pictures of the DECON drills and will post them as soon as I can, it was very educational and lots of fun. Taken July 2010