Information and photo from U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management
The U.S. Department of Energy said its Office of Environmental Management and its contractors know the importance of training to ensure safety.
Recently, that training helped save a life in an unlikely place, DOE said in a story published Tuesday.
While eating lunch at a local restaurant, Eric Glenn, a radiological control technician at Isotek, noticed a man choking on his sandwich.
“I just heard a man coughing and he did the choking sign, so I ran over and gave him the Heimlich maneuver six or seven times,” Glenn said.
His efforts removed the airway blockage, and the man was able to return to his seat moments later, DOE said.
Glenn was able to act swiftly and effectively because he has training in these situations, DOE said. Throughout his career, he’s been certified to perform first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and to administer the automated external defibrillator (AED).
Isotek is prime contractor for DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management for processing and disposing the site’s inventory of uranium-233. Safety is essential to performing Isotek’s complex work successfully, and the company takes steps to ensure its employees are prepared if anything unexpected happens, offering first aid, CPR, and AED training to its employees, DOE said.
“He comes in here a few times a week,” Robert McGrath, the restaurant’s general manager, said of the man Glenn helped. “One minute you’re eating a sandwich and the next, you’re fighting for your life.”
The extra training Isotek offered proved helpful beyond the workplace, such as a normal lunch break on a Tuesday. In this case, it helped save a life, DOE said.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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