This week, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will be donating 17,500 Tyvek suits to the Province of Ontario to help address the need for personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tyvek suits are protective suits that guard against a variety of hazards including liquid, oils, chemicals and airborne elements. OPG uses these suits when working in nuclear operations, however the suits are also used by healthcare professionals to protect against airborne diseases and other hazards.

OPG will coordinate delivery of the shipment to the Ministry of Health this week for distribution to hospitals, long-term care homes and any other essential healthcare providers in the most-needed areas of the province. The suits are designed to be worn in an affected area, and then promptly removed and disposed of.

The suits were part of OPG’s inventory of PPE for its nuclear workers. The OPG says its inventory exceeds its needs at this time, and as a result, it is able to share some of its supplies with the Ontario government for healthcare priorities. OPG says that it will continue to maintain a “healthy reserve of Tyvek suits for its critical workers who continue to work every day to keep the lights on for Ontarians.”

This donation follows the 500,000 surgical masks and 75,000 N95 masks that the OPG donated to the province last week in response to the growing shortage of PPE in hospitals and healthcare facilities across the province.