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Prps Presentation Ficci
The document discusses CBRNe (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive) threats and mitigation strategies. It provides an overview of major threat types including chemical warfare agents like nerve agents, biological warfare agents, and dirty bombs. It then describes the anatomy of a civil emergency response, including establishing hot, warm, and cold zones. It discusses desired emergency service responses and provides examples of personal protective equipment. It also covers decontamination techniques like mass decontamination and filtration theories used in respiratory protection.
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- 1. CBRNe Threats andMitigation Presented by Firoze Zia Hussain CEO Totem International Ltd 9618621234 [email_address] Strategic partner for GE homeland security
- 2. Major threats areCBRN Hazards
- 3.
- 4. Civil Event withEmergency Response
- 5. Accident Result ofWar What is a Civil Emergency? Terrorist attack Industrial Transportation Medical / Pharmaceutical Natural disaster Result of biological hazard outbreak
- 6. Anatomy of aCivil Emergency Incident Primary Secondary Incident Contamination Air/Ground/Water People
- 7. C B RN e = Chemical = Biological = Radiological = Nuclear = explosive Hazards
- 8. Chemical Warfare AgentsBiological Warfare Agents Dirty Bombs Examples of Hazards White Powder Incidents
- 9. Chemical warfare agentscan be divided into the following: Lethal agents Non lethal agents Incapacitating agents Riot Control Agents Nerve Agents Asphyxiant/blood agents Vesicant/blister Agents Pulmonary/choking Agents Chemical Warfare Agents
- 10. Affects the communicationbetween nerve cells, causing uncontrollable muscle stimulation Nerve agent types: G- Agents Tabun (GA) Sarin (GB) Soman (GD) Cyclosarin (GF) V Agents VE VG VM VX Typical Symptoms: Blurred/dim vision Headache Nausea Vomiting Diarrhoea Secretions and sweating Muscle twitching Laboured breathing Seizures Loss of consciousness Nerve Agent Chemical Warfare Agents
- 11. Biological Warfare AgentsLethal agents Bacteria Viruses Toxins derived from bacteria Toxins derived from plants Biological warfare agents can be divided into the following:
- 12. Dirty Bombs Weaponsof Mass Destruction +
- 13. Dirty Bombs AnAtom 3 Types of Ionising Radiation β Beta Particles γ Gamma Rays & X Rays α Alpha Particles Aluminium Lead Proton (Positive) Nucleus Neutron (Neutral) Electron (Negative)
- 14. Dirty Bombs AnAtom Effects of Ionising Radiation on the Body Unnatural chemical reactions within cells DNA chains break within cells making cells die Damaged DNA mutation (cancer) General cell malfunction (radiation sickness) Proton (Positive) Nucleus Neutron (Neutral) Electron (Negative)
- 15. How Should theEmergency Services Respond?
- 16. Who responds andhow? Different countries; different processes E.g. Israel & France: no decontamination at scene etc Development of “Zones” Hot zone, warm zone, cold zone Contaminated, decontamination, clean.
- 17. Protection Level AProtection Level B Protection Level C Crowd Control Line Decontamination Line Hot Line Typically SCBA/Gas suits Typically Full-face/ appropriate filter/suit or P&SA/ suit Typically Half-mask/disposable/skin protection – if nec. Exclusion (Hot) Zone Contamination Reduction (Warm) Zone Support (Cold) Zone Access Control Points Wind Drainage
- 18.
- 19. Civil Emergency Response Hot Zone Contaminated Warm Zone Decontamination Area “ Dirty” Cold Zone “ Clean” Fire Service Triage Rescue of Casualties Removal of Bodies INCIDENT Ambulance Service Triage Casualty tagging Public Mass Decontamination Emergency Services Decontamination Police Investigation Evidence and Intelligence gathering Police Property storage & bagging Contaminated body holding Ambulance service Casualty clearing In-depth triage Ambulance Loading Survivor evacuation Police Decontaminated body holding Wind direction
- 20. Primary & SecondaryContamination Hospital Personnel Medical Team treating casualties Ambulance Team Injured and infected self presenting to hospitals & doctors surgeries Secondary Contamination Directly from Source Emergency Services arriving on scene Primary Contamination Indirectly via contaminated personnel & equipment
- 21. Mass Decontamination MassDecontamination is the task of removing possibly contaminated personnel (public, casualties, ER workers) from the hot zone, and decontaminating them. Victims/casualties/personnel could be walking or on stretcher. Equipment usually consists of a shower system in a tent, with personnel entering at one end and exiting at the other. Shower water will usually contain a decontamination agent to aid removal of the contaminant from the body – often just a surfactant/detergent to reduce surface tension. Contaminated clothing articles and water must be collected. Plans usually include modesty clothing for personnel. Chemprotex PRPS was designed for this application.
- 22. How well equippedare the Emergency Services? Hot Zone Contaminated Warm Zone Decontamination Area “ Dirty” Cold Zone “ Clean” INCIDENT Wind direction
- 23. Examples of EmergencyService PPE
- 24. Desired Response FireService Hot Zone Detection, Identification & Monitoring Reconnaissance Search & Rescue Police Warm & Cold Zone Reconnaissance Crime Scene Management Firearms use Fire & Ambulance Warm Zone Triage Mass Decontamination Casualty Transport
- 25. Events Do occuror are considered likely Targets? Capability gaps Governments openly admitting Government plans government planning to improve response process and capability Status today?? Conclusions
- 26. Civil Emergency Response(UK) Hot Zone Contaminated Warm Zone Decontamination Area “ Dirty” Cold Zone “ Clean” Fire Service Triage Rescue of Casualties Removal of Bodies INCIDENT Ambulance Service Triage Casualty tagging Public Mass Decontamination Emergency Services Decontamination Police Investigation Evidence and Intelligence gathering Police Property storage & bagging Contaminated body holding Ambulance service Casualty clearing In-depth triage Ambulance Loading Survivor evacuation Police Decontaminated body holding Wind direction
- 27. Civil Emergency Response(UK) Public Mass Decontamination Disrobing Responsibilities Police Fire Service Ambulance Service Showering Responsibilities Fire Service Ambulance Service Re-robing Responsibilities Fire Service
- 28. Other ER ApplicationsMedical Triage, Casualty transport, Emergency Infection control; Autopsy, Fire Service (need D.I.M) (Search/Rescue) Police (firearms) Civil Defence / Military: Decontamination of vehicles / other items
- 29. Possible Industrial ApplicationPlant maintenance / shut-down
- 30.
- 31. Particle Filter Gas/vapourFilter Filter structure
- 32.
- 33. Four common mechanismsof particle filtration Interception capture Inertial impaction Diffusion capture Electrostatic attraction Electrostatic filtration Mechanical filtration
- 34.
- 35. As a ruleof thumb… Organics Tend to come from living or once living material Inorganic Made up of carbon based compounds which can form long chains Compounds of elements other than carbon (e.g chlorine or sulphur) Examples of inorganic compounds are ammonia and sulphur dioxide
- 36. Gas filtration Mechanismsfor filtering out gases Adsorption Chemisorptions
- 37. The main ingredientin gas filtration Charcoal is usually the main ingredient in adsorption and chemisorption filters Granulated charcoal is used in JFR 85 filters Activated charcoal granule magnified Surface area!
- 38. Surface area… Theaverage surface area contained within a pair of healthy adult lungs is roughly equivalent to the area of a singles tennis court What would you estimate the total internal and external surface area of the charcoal in a JFR 85 filter to be? ?
- 39. Surface area… Theinternal/external surface area of the granulated charcoal in the JFR 85 filter is over 306,000m ² … = 40 international sized football pitches! = 80 international sized football pitches!
- 40. Gas filter suitability…Filter type Gases filtered out Filtration method A Organic gases Adsorption B Inorganic gases Chemisorption E (Inorganic) acid gases Ammonia gas Chemisorption Chemisorption K
- 41. Combination filters Pleated3M advanced electret particle filtration layer Granulated activated/chemically treated charcoal layer Contaminated air in Filtered air out
- 42. The Respiratory ProtectionSystem Powered Respirator Theory Chemprotex PRPS – the Powered Respirator System Filtration Filtration Theory JFR-85-CE Filter Performance
- 43. JFR-85-CE Filter PerformanceThe JFR-85-CE filter has been designed specifically for use with the Chemprotex PRPS. This module gives an overview of the performance of the JFR-85-CE filter, when used with the Chemprotex PRPS.
- 44. The Respiratory ProtectionSystem Powered Respirator Theory Chemprotex PRPS – the Powered Respirator System Filtration Filtration Theory JFR-85-CE Filter Performance Particulates Gases JFR-85-CE Filter Performance
- 45. Dusts & Liquidaerosols Solid particles Wood dust, smoke, cement dust Spores ( e.g. anthrax) Radioactive particles (e.g. caesium 137, polonium 210, strontium 90, etc – dirty bomb particles) Water and oil-based Bacteria, viruses (e.g. Ebola, botulin) Sneezes (loaded with viruses….) Acid & alkaline mists (e.g. sulphuric acid & sodium hydroxide) Mustard gas may contain both a vapour and a mist. JFR-85-CE Filter Performance - Particulates
- 46. JFR-85-CE is testedto EN12941 TH3 (PF=500xTLV) Total inward leakage measured against most penetrating aerosol size. Must have max filter penetration of <0.2% Lab results far below this much higher Lab protection factor 100% on-line test Currently, we can only claim 500. Working on a plan to claim 2000. JFR-85-CE Filter Performance - Particulates
- 47. The Respiratory ProtectionSystem Powered Respirator Theory Chemprotex PRPS – the Powered Respirator System Filtration Filtration Theory JFR-85-CE Filter Performance Particulates Gases JFR-85-CE Filter Performance
- 48. Mostly based onorganophosphate chemistry (pesticides) Highly toxic (obviously!) Some toxic by inhalation – volatile; some by skin contact – not volatile Can be mixed with a “carrier” – e.g. to make it more adhesive Mostly simulants are tested, and not live agents Chemical Warfare Agents
- 49.
- 50. 480 Time inminutes 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 Permeation Rate ( µg/cm²·min) 1.0 0.1 MDPR ASTM F739 EN374-3 SSPR Measuring Permeation
- 51.
- 52. How can weprovide protection? What are the key principles we can adopt to protect against CBRN Hazards
- 53. Protection principles Avoidcoming into contact with the substance Avoid inhaling the substance Avoid ingesting the substance
- 54. For 100% protection2 choices: Total protection from contamination Avoid entering the contaminated area X
- 55. For 100% protection2 choices: Total protection from contamination Avoid entering the contaminated area Create a protective barrier between the worker and the contamination X
- 56. Total protection fromcontamination Fundamental flaws… Unable to move about Unable to interact with environment The user will be suffocated within a few minutes
- 57. Respiratory protection/air supplyoptions Compressed airline system Self contained breathing apparatus Powered respirator system with filters
- 58. Compressed airline systemCould be demand valve or constant-flow Large volume of clean-air air provided if constant-flow Could be facepiece or loose-fitting Severely limited mobility Compressor Clean-air intake
- 59. SCBA within thebubble Limited volume of clean air available Demand valve required Bubble filled with exhaled air Exhalation valve to outside environment required Heavy load on user
- 60. Powered air withinthe bubble Large volume of filtered air provided Bubble filled with exhaled air and excess airflow Air management required Exhalation valve to outside environment required
- 61. Make the bubblefit a person Allows movement Allows interaction with the environment
- 62. Make the bubblefit a person Allows movement Allows interaction with the environment
- 63. Protection from contaminationHow do powered respirators provide protection?
- 64. Powered respirator keycomponents Electric motor and fan Rechargeable battery Face seal Filter
- 65. How does theflow of air protect the user? Air flows through the headtop at 135-230 l/min The face seal maintains a slightly higher air pressure inside the headtop Exhaled and excess air is flushed out through exhalation holes or valves Any face seal leaks should normally leak - clean air out
- 66. The benefits ofa powered respirator Airborne hazard protection Normal breathing effort A refreshing flow of filtered air Exhaled air is flushed out Long operating times Light weight/portable
- 67. Protection from contamination+ + Face seal Breathing tube/connectors Headtop leaks Exhalation holes Filter efficiency Face seal Breathing tube/connectors Headtop leaks Exhalation valves Filter efficiency Inward leakage paths of a Powered Respirator Inward leakage paths of a Powered Respirator inside a gas tight suit
- 68. The suit andattachments What is protecting the user from making physical contact with the toxic substances
- 69. The Chemical ProtectiveClothing System
- 70. Tychem ® TK Tychem TK features Outstanding chemical barrier properties Light weight, supple and flexible High material strength and tear resistance Physical properties maintained over a wide temperature range Non halogenated barrier films
- 71. Tychem ® TK Polymer coating 1 st barrier film 2 nd barrier film
- 72. Tychem ® TK Polyester nonwoven Polymer coating 1 st barrier film 2 nd barrier film 0.72mm
- 73. Tychem ® TK permeability Dimethylamine (Gas) BS EN374-3 breakthrough time > 480 minutes
- 74. Trapezoidal tear testTychem TK has passed the 200N tear test
- 75. Flex cracking testTychem TK has gained class 1 performance: >1000 flexing cycles without damage
- 76.
- 77. Seam design Typicalexternal seam Typical internal seam Effective glue thickness
- 78.
- 79.
- 80. Visor 480 minutechemical permeation protection
- 81. Visor design PVCbase material Chemical protective layer Unobstructed field of vision
- 82.
- 83. Boot Chemical ProtectionInjection moulded seamless construction Upper and sole oil resistant to EN345-S5 Boot compound surpasses NFPA 1991 requirements Chemical permeation resistance to EN374-3 Safety features Slip & oil resistant sole Stainless steel toecap (200 joule) Stainless steel midsole
- 84.
- 85. Additional chemical resistantlining Gloves Heavy duty Neoprene glove Lighter duty Neoprene glove Optional cotton glove
- 86.
- 87. Valve Wide flangeValve cover Rear facing exhalation vents Labyrinth Rubber gasket
- 88. Suit sizes SM L XL XXL Glove and boot sizes We can provide standard size combinations to match the suit We can offer individual glove, boot and suit size combinations to accommodate customer preferences
- 89. POWERED RESPIRATORY PROTECTIVESUIT [ N B C ] BATTERY POWERED 3M JUPITER ER TURBO FITTED. HIGHLY CHEMICAL RESISTANT FABRIC WITH HAZMAX SHOE FITTED. TWO FILTER ATTACHED TO FILTER C B R N. RECHARGABLE BATTERY TIME 4 HOURS NO NEED OF BA SET OR AIRLINE . AS PER EN 464:1994 REMOTE ALARM DEVICE . WIDELY USED BY FIRE SERVICES, PHARMA, DISASTER MANAGEMENT
- 90. RESPIREX TRAINING ANDSERVICE CENTRE INDIA LEAK TEST GAS TIGHT SUIT TO EN 464:1994 CARRY OUT ROUTINE MAINTENANCE REPORT AND RACTIFY ANY DEFECTS REPAIR OF GARMENTS INTERNALLY SANITIZE AND DECONTAMINATION OF THE GARMENTS PROVIDE FULL SAFETY AUDIT ON GARMENT. ADVISE & TRAINING ON SUIT CLEANING, STORAGE AND WEARING ANNUAL MAINTAINCE CONTRACTS
- 91.
- 92.
Editor's Notes
- #5 Civil emergency response Now that we have investigated the possible threats and effects of accidents and malicious incidents, it is important to briefly recap on where we have got to so far…
- #6 What are we protecting the user from? Terrorist attack… Finally we come to the most significant threat in recent times… the terrorist, fanatic or lone operator who wants to inflict maximum injury on a population
- #7 Anatomy of a Civil Emergency Incident Many civil emergency incidents start with a primary incident in the form of an explosion (the size of the explosion may vary, depending on its cause) In a populated area, this primary incident will most likely cause damage to property as well as serious injury and death to those within the immediate vicinity of the explosion, this would therefore be relatively localised However it is the secondary incident that has the potential to cause most disruption… what if the explosion released a cloud of poisonous gas, poisonous particles, or radioactive particles? Occasionally the primary incident may be far less dramatic, it may be as a result of a gas or chemical leaking out of a ruptured pipe, the operation of an aerosol spray or the puncturing of a bag or container holding a volatile liquid… in this case the secondary incident is the only cause of death and injury The scale of the initial incident is magnified to cover a larger area which may be made worse by wind speed and wind direction (which also may change easily) thereby dispersing the contaminant over a far wider area The problem may now be a poisonous gas or vapour which can kill or maim hundreds more people before it disperses naturally If this is a deliberate attack, we are now describing a “weapon of mass destruction” The worst case scenario is fall out of extremely hazardous particles (including liquid droplets etc) which can contaminate the area… they can affect the air, ground (including buildings, vegetation etc), and water supplies
- #9 Weapons of Mass Destruction What are the weapons of mass destruction available to our enemies including terrorists, fanatics, and extremists? They have 3 main options: Chemical warfare... Chemicals which can maim, incapacitate or kill the target… they are usually in either liquid or gaseous form Biological warfare… consists of viruses and bacteria which can maim, incapacitate or kill the target Dirty Bombs… release radioactive contamination In addition there is also a 4 th category… the white powder incident or hoax! It still has the potential to cause wide scale panic and it is also very difficult to determine whether it is a hazard or a hoax! This last comment means that it will have to be treated just as seriously as a genuine toxic substance in the initial stages So lets look at these threats in more detail…
- #10 Chemical warfare agents We can divide chemical warfare agents into the following categories Lethal agents … and non lethal agents Whilst some of the effects of non lethal agents can be very unpleasant (e.g CS gas etc) we will only concentrate on the lethal agents in this presentation…
- #11 Nerve agents: Effect: Nerve cells communicate with each other by the use of chemicals The chemical used to activate muscles (e.g to make them contract) is called acetylcholine When the message has ended, a chemical called cholinesterase enzyme is released which clears the acetylcholine and switches the message off Nerve agents interfere with the release of cholinesterase, and if the message is not cancelled it will keep on repeating (e.g causing the muscle to continuously contract uncontrollably) …many of our vital functions are controlled by muscles, so this is extremely dangerous Symptoms: Blurred/dim vision, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, secretions and sweating, muscle twitching, laboured breathing, seizures, and loss of consciousness …Death may result from asphyxiation as the diaphragm (which controls our breathing) is a muscle and it will eventually be affected too Well known nerve agents include: Tabun, Sarin, Soman, VX and believe it or not… some insecticides (when insecticides are used on aphids etc the effect on their bodies is similar) It is not uncommon for farmers to suffer similar symptoms if they do not wear suitable PPE when using insecticides Persistency: Agents with the G prefix tend to evaporate relatively quickly and pose mostly an inhalation hazard Agents with the V prefix tend to be formulated to evaporate slowly (sometimes at similar rate to motor oil) becoming a long term contact hazard Rate of action on the body: ranges from seconds - minutes (in vapour form) to 2 -18 hours (following skin contact)
- #12 Biological weapons Biological weapons include a number of types of agents to kill people They are derived from a number of “living” sources and in some cases they behave in similar ways to chemical warfare agents Biological warfare agents can be divided into the following categories: Bacteria Viruses Toxins derived from bacteria And Toxins derived from plants we will briefly look at a number of examples of each of these categories
- #13 Dirty bomb The primary aim of a dirty bomb is to distribute radioactive material over a wide area The explosive capability of the bomb is no different than a normal bomb, instead its payload of radioactive particles is what makes it so frightening A dirty bomb is really a radiological dispersion bomb and consists of a conventional explosive packaged with radioactive material When the bomb detonates, the rapidly expanding very hot gas can disperse the radioactive material over large areas The explosion, although potentially deadly, is not the main threat of the weapon So in essence, a dirty bomb provides the aftermath of a nuclear bomb, without the big explosion and more importantly… with far less expertise and cost
- #14 More about ionising radiation… There are 3 common types of ionising radiation: Alpha particles… consist of an atomic nuclei made up of 2 protons and 2 neutrons… they are given off naturally by heavy elements such as Uranium and Radium and some man made elements too Because they are quite large they collide easily with other matter, losing energy quickly… they do not tend to penetrate well and can be stopped by skin or paper … but if they get inside the body, they can be very damaging as they give up their energy over a short distance Beta particles.. These fast moving electrons are ejected from the nuclei of atoms… as they are much smaller than alpha particles they penetrate further, up to 1-2 cm human flesh but can be stopped by aluminium sheet a few millimetres thick Beta particles are emitted from many radioactive elements Gamma rays and X rays… are energy transmitted in waves rather than particles (imagine it as light or heat energy) X rays and gamma rays are virtually the same except X rays are usually created artificially rather than from the atomic nucleus They have great penetrating power, easily passing through the human body… to protect against them, thick barriers of lead, water or concrete are needed (X rays are harmless in small doses)
- #15 So what potential damage can a dirty bomb cause to the human body? If ionizing radiation takes place within the human body, it can cause a number of changes The ions electrical charge may cause unnatural chemical reactions inside cells It may break DNA chains within cells causing the cells to die, if this happens on a large scale, the body can develop various diseases The damaged DNA may mutate and the cell may become cancerous… which could spread around the body The cells may also malfunction resulting in a range of symptoms called radiation sickness (the only cure being a bone marrow transplant) So whilst alpha particles are not as penetrating, their effect on the human body is biologically worse if their particles (e.g dust) are inhaled or ingested… their energy is directed at the cells closest to them inside the body The effect of the various forms of radiation depend on the dosage x the dosage duration and of course the distance the body is from the source Often distance and brief exposure are effective at reducing effects on the body
- #16 How should the emergency services respond? What do you think the emergency services should do to tackle the contaminated casualties of such an incident?
- #20 Cold Zone Throughout the incident, the public not involved in the initial incident are kept away from the area by an outer cordon The cold zone area between the outer cordon and the warm zone inner cordon is regarded as a low risk area as there should be no access to it from contaminated people The ambulance service are then responsible for casualty clearing and in-depth triage They will send people to the survival rest centre loading point which is controlled by the police and local authority personnel They will send casualties to the ambulance loading point, which is controlled by other Ambulance Service personnel And finally the Ambulance service will send any decontaminated bodies to the police for transferring to a temporary mortuary It is this set of procedures that ensure that secondary contamination can be avoided In particular the emergency services personnel must be protected at all times from contamination, as without them further uncontrolled spreading of secondary contamination is very likely
- #21 Secondary Contamination Whilst the airborne contamination may have ceased, the skin and clothing of those involved in the incident (dead, injured and contaminated) can still pose a very serious threat to those dealing with them The contamination, in whatever form it takes, can now affect a wide range of people not caught up in the initial incident, these include: The emergency services who are responding to the incident, they can become contaminated by just being in the contaminated area, by handling objects in the area and treating the injured and contaminated people The Medical team dealing with casualties coming into contact with contaminated clothing, blood, people coughing etc Ambulance Team transporting injured to hospital Hospital staff, including the accident and emergency team dealing with the initial influx of injured people, and the doctors, nurses, cleaners etc all coming into contact with them afterwards There is also a very real danger of those injured or with delayed reaction leaving the scene and presenting themselves to hospitals and doctors surgeries later In addition there are others who may be passing through the area by car, bus or train and carrying on to infect others without knowing it! So the threat does not only affect those involved in the initial incident, it also includes those responding to the emergency, those dealing with the injured and finally all the health staff dealing with them when they leave the scene
- #23 Civil Emergency Response PPE So what have the emergency services traditionally worn for civil emergency situations pre 2001? The Fire service used gas tight SCBA suits following a DIMs team (Detection Identification and Measurement) analysis of the situation For the Fire Service once the DIMs teams (Detection Identification and Measurement) have assessed the risk, suitable PPE is selected and their teams are deployed… if necessary they had access to gas tight SCBA suits The police who could be present in both the hot and warm zones were not issued with any form of protective clothing apart from their uniforms! The Ambulance service who would be expected to treat casualties in the warm zone wore their standard uniforms (green overalls) So pre 2001 no specific equipment was allocated to the Police operating in the Hot and Warm zones or the Ambulance Service operating in the warm “decontamination” zone With a greater awareness of the potential risks and the heightened threat from world terrorism on the increase a total rethink was required…
- #27 Cold Zone Throughout the incident, the public not involved in the initial incident are kept away from the area by an outer cordon The cold zone area between the outer cordon and the warm zone inner cordon is regarded as a low risk area as there should be no access to it from contaminated people The ambulance service are then responsible for casualty clearing and in-depth triage They will send people to the survival rest centre loading point which is controlled by the police and local authority personnel They will send casualties to the ambulance loading point, which is controlled by other Ambulance Service personnel And finally the Ambulance service will send any decontaminated bodies to the police for transferring to a temporary mortuary It is this set of procedures that ensure that secondary contamination can be avoided In particular the emergency services personnel must be protected at all times from contamination, as without them further uncontrolled spreading of secondary contamination is very likely
- #28 Public mass decontamination (UK) Before anyone can leave the warm zone, they must be decontaminated Decontamination units are set up at the border between warm and cold zones (numbers of decontamination units vary according to expected traffic) Disrobing is the first stage of decontamination … it is vital that all contaminated clothing is removed as soon as possible to minimise the effects of contamination, re-contamination and secondary contamination… Police, Fire Service and Ambulance Service personnel share responsibility ensuring that all members of the public involved in the incident are sent to the decontamination unit and disrobe (the police tag and secure their contaminated belongings and maintain public order) Showering is the second stage of decontamination… everyone including all casualties must shower and wash in detergents to remove body contamination Ambulance service and fire service personnel share responsibility for ensuring this is properly carried out Re-robing… those involved in the incident need to be given clean clothing after decontamination It is the responsibility of the fire service to re-robe and lead the public away into the cold zone In addition any emergency personnel (police, fire and ambulance) wishing to leave the warm zone for the cold zone must decontaminate in their own decontamination unit in the same way
- #31 CBRN filtration training module The purpose of this training module is to help explain the methods available for filtering out particles gases and vapours so that you can understand how a combined gas & vapour / particulate filter works. The JFR-85-CE filter -used on the Chemprotex PRPS (powered respiratory protective suit) - is such a combined gas & vapour / particulate filter Please note that the specific capability, performance and use of the JFR-85-CE filter, when used with the Chemprotex PRPS is covered in a separate training module.
- #32 Filter structure The JFR-85-CE filter is suitable for filtering out particles as well as gases/vapours The filtration methods used to filter out particles and gases/vapours are totally different, so the filter is divided into two sections: The first section is the particle filter The second section is the gas/vapour filter In this training module we will look at the two filtration methods in detail
- #33 Particle filtration We will look at particle filtration first…
- #34 Four common methods of particle filtration One or all of these mechanisms may be responsible for the successful capture of a particle , depending on the size shape and mass of the particle and the type of filter being used We must also remember that the air that carries airborne particles is made up of gas molecules which affect the movement of small particles in the air We can group the four capture mechanisms into two main areas: Mechanical filtration Electrostatic filtration The JFR 85 filter used on our Chemprotex suit utilises both these methods of particle capture Over the next few minutes we will look at each mechanism in turn to explain the complexity of air filtration Note: all the diagrams and explanations illustrate the air being drawn in through a filter either as a result of the user breathing in or a powered respirator turbo pulling the air through the filter… causing an airflow
- #35 Gas filtration training module The purpose of this section is to help explain the methods available for filtering out gases , together with explanations of how the gas molecules are actually captured... Please note that gases in this context also includes vapours… Vapours are defined as… gases produced when substances which are solid or liquid at room temperature evaporate
- #36 As a rule of thumb… Organics Most organic substances come from living or once living material e.g animals, plants, coal and oil Why is oil included here? Oil is derived from vegetation and animal matter which has decomposed over millions of years The key to understanding this definition is that organic substances are made up of carbon based compounds which can link together to form long chains… so the number of carbon atoms present in an organic compound molecule (collection of atoms) is important… often organic substances will have more than one carbon atom per molecule These carbon based chains are more commonly referred to as “the building blocks of life” Carbon is the key element in this building block Inorganics Inorganics are compounds of elements other than carbon such as chlorine or sulphur (e.g. ammonia, sulphur dioxides) For the purposes of gas filtration, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are classed as inorganic gases as they do not form long carbon based chains
- #37 Gas filters There are 2 common methods used for filtering out gases… adsorption and chemisorption What do you think the main constituent is made from in both of these filtration methods?
- #38 Charcoal… Charcoal is the main constituent used in both adsorption and chemisorption filters Why charcoal? The secret to filtering out gases is to have as large a surface area as possible for the gas to pass over Charcoal has an enormous internal surface area as it is full of minute passageways… it is a bit like natural sponge Think about this for a minute… What is the main difference between a piece of lumpwood charcoal (commonly used on barbequeues) and a piece of wood… apart from it’s colour? The lumpwood charcoal size for size is far lighter because it contains these tiny passageways 3M filters use activated charcoal What do we mean by activated charcoal? Activated charcoal has been specially processed to create optimum sized cavities and passageways, to increase it’s pore structure The charcoal can be processed in various ways, 3M uses granulated charcoal in its JFR 85 filters What is our charcoal made from? Coconut shells are used, as their activated charcoal pore structure is more ideally suited to gas filtration… and at the end of the day coconut shells are a renewable resource
- #39 Surface area… The average internal surface area contained within a pair of adult lungs is roughly equivalent to the area of a singles tennis court (90m ²) On this basis, what would you estimate the total internal and external surface area of all the charcoal in the JFR 85 filter is?
- #40 Surface area… The JFR 85 gas filter section contains around 475cc of granulated activated charcoal As we said earlier, the internal and external surface area of charcoal is phenomenal 475cc of charcoal will give us over 306,000m² of internal and external surface area … Which is the equivalent to the area of over 40 international football pitches And remember on the Chemprotex suit we have 2 filters… … giving us over 80 football pitches worth of filtration area! This explanation about surface area still doesn’t explain how the filter takes out gases… to do this we need to understand a little about adsorption and chemisorption The following explanations are intended to help explain the basic principles of gas filtration to the layman, without the need to get into complex discussions that only trained chemists and physicists would understand However, these principles help explain the key elements of knowledge needed to understand why and how they work
- #41 Filter types… The JFR-85-CE filter filters out a wide range of organic and inorganic gases: It is labelled A, B, E, K… which means it is suitable for the majority of gases and vapours which are capable of being filtered.
- #42 Combination filters The JFR 85 filter is a combination filter It has been specifically designed to filter out the majority of particles, gases and vapours involved in a civil incident For combination particle and gas filters, we normally put the particulate filter first to prevent the charcoal filter bed from prematurely clogging up with particles In this instance we use the 3M advanced electret filter material in front of the charcoal If we are protecting against organic and inorganic gases and vapours, we tend to put the chemically treated chemisorption charcoal in front of the adsorption charcoal (sometimes air humidity assists with the necessary chemical reaction) The resultant filter will be called an ABEKP… meaning that it can filter out organic, inorganic, acid, ammonia gases and vapours and particulates Our JFR 85 filters for the Chemprotex suit are also tested against chemical warfare agents
- #44 JFR-85-CE Filter Performance & Use The JFR-85-CE filter has been designed specifically for use with the Chemprotex PRPS. The capability, use and limitations of the JFR-85-CE filter, when used with the Chemprotex PRPS are covered in a separate module, but are specifically covered by your operating procedures.
- #47 JFR-85-CE is tested to EN12941 TH3 (PF=500xTLV) Total inward leakage measured against most penetrating aerosol size. No measurable leakage detected so far! Must have max filter penetration of <0.2% Lab results far below this Much higher Lab Protection factor 100% on-line test… … 30x lower than that! Equivalent to a protection factor of 15,000! Currently, we can only claim 500. Working on a plan to claim 2000.
- #50 Measuring Permeation When designing a chemical protective suit it is critical to be able to monitor how long it takes for a given substance to break through the protective clothing material and its accessories Different chemicals can break through different materials at different rates, so by creating a worst case scenario test we can safely predict how well a particular barrier material will perform over a given time, before breakthrough is detected To measure the rate and amount of permeation a permeation test cell is used…
- #51 Typical Permeation (3 methods) 3) Normalised breakthrough time (using EN374-3) This is the lowest breakthrough time of 3 tests to detect a permeation rate of 1 microgram per square centimetre per minute (1 µg/cm²· min) This eliminates the majority of problems where an analyser is not sensitive enough to detect breakthrough at extremely low levels Obviously great care must be taken when utilising this data where very toxic chemicals are being assessed as 1 µg/cm²· min may be harmful or even lethal if it breaks through a protective suit, therefore detection of breakthrough at lower levels could be even more important The Performance classification for the European standard (EN374-3) are as follows: Class 1 = ≥ 10 minutes normalised breakthrough time Class 2 = ≥ 30 minutes normalised breakthrough time Class 3 = ≥ 60 minutes normalised breakthrough time (1 hr) Class 4 = ≥ 120 minutes normalised breakthrough time (2 hrs) Class 5 = ≥ 240 minutes normalised breakthrough time (4 hrs) Class 6 = ≥ 480 minutes normalised breakthrough time (8 hrs)
- #53 How can we provide protection? What are the key principles we can adopt to protect against these extremely dangerous substances?
- #54 Protection principles? All of the threats we have looked at so far can be adequately protected from as long as we do the following: Avoid coming into contact with the substance This means avoiding all skin contact and includes physical contact with the eyes too… in particular we must also ensure that we do not allow the substance to come into contact with cuts or scratches as this will bypass the skins’ natural defences even quicker Avoid inhaling the substance Do not breathe it in… and as we have seen, even very tiny quantities of some substances can be deadly Avoid ingesting the substance Do not swallow it… this could be through infected water supplies, infected food, and even includes licking your lips which may have become contaminated by small particles of the substance The only serious hazard which breaks these rules is penetrating gamma radiation and some forms of beta radiation, the methods of protection against these two are more specialised and are not provided by type of equipment we are discussing here In this module we will look at a number of methods that can be used to provide excellent protection against all but penetrating radiation…
- #55 Total protection against contamination For the user to be 100% protected there are 2 choices: 1: Avoid entering the contaminated area This first option is not feasible as trained emergency personnel need to enter the contaminated area as soon as possible and treat the injured (who are also likely to be contaminated) as well as decontaminating all those involved in the incident
- #56 Total protection against contamination 2: Create a protective barrier between the worker and the contamination In its simplest form we could consider sealing the emergency services worker inside a protective bubble… totally separated from the outside contaminated environment… this would give 100% protection as long as the substance could not break through the barrier material
- #57 Respiratory protection/air supply Unfortunately the protective bubble has a number of obvious flaws including: Inability for the user to move about the environment (unable to walk) Inability for the user to interact with the environment (unable to hold things in their hands, grab things etc) But far more fundamental than all these is the inability for the bubble to maintain a regular supply of good quality air… the user is depleting the air of oxygen every time they inhale, and adding CO 2 to the air with every exhalation We will therefore look at resolving this problem before we look at the finer details of protection…
- #58 Respiratory protection/air supply What options are available for providing clean air inside the bubble? Simply making a hole in the bubble to allow air in will resolve the oxygen problem, but will also allow contaminated air in at the same time There are a number of options available and they are as follows: Use a compressor to supply clean air to the user… In reality, this is not feasible for our requirements because the compressor system is best suited to stationary uses due to the air supply hose having to trail on the floor And secondly the compressor needs to draw its air from its surroundings (which may be contaminated) to avoid this it may have to be situated some way from the incident… this will affect the flow of air to the user as the air pressure will drop over long distances So, for this section we will concentrate on the two most viable options… SCBA enclosed within the bubble … and a Powered Respirator drawing air into the bubble through a filter Note: The negative pressure full face filtering respirator used with a separate close fitting suit as favoured by the armed forces and police does not use the bubble principle so is not included here (we will look at it later under competitive products)
- #59 SCBA within the bubble Lets see what happens when we put an SCBA set inside the bubble… Limited volume of clean air available… In other words the supply of air is strictly limited to the capacity of the SCBA bottle, but the air supplied is totally independent of the quality of air outside the bubble (it is self contained) A demand valve is needed to manage the limited supply of air, to do this the user must wear a full face mask inside the bubble Bubble filled with exhaled air… every time the user breathes out their exhaled air is released into the bubble Exhalation valve to outside environment required… exhaled air needs to exit the bubble otherwise it will be very hard to breathe out due to a gradually increasing pressure inside the bubble This slight increase in pressure upon exhaling is used to open exhalation valves to the outside environment
- #60 SCBA within the bubble Lets see what happens when we put an SCBA set inside the bubble… Limited volume of clean air available… In other words the supply of air is strictly limited to the capacity of the SCBA bottle, but the air supplied is totally independent of the quality of air outside the bubble (it is self contained) A demand valve is needed to manage the limited supply of air, to do this the user must wear a full face mask inside the bubble Bubble filled with exhaled air… every time the user breathes out their exhaled air is released into the bubble Exhalation valve to outside environment required… exhaled air needs to exit the bubble otherwise it will be very hard to breathe out due to a gradually increasing pressure inside the bubble This slight increase in pressure upon exhaling is used to open exhalation valves to the outside environment
- #61 Powered air within the bubble Lets see what happens when we put a Powered Respirator unit inside the bubble which draws ambient air from outside into the bubble through a filter Large volume of filtered air… this will provide as much air as the battery pack and filter will allow before the battery runs down or the filter becomes blocked or unable to provide adequate filtration (more on filtration later) The bubble is filled with exhaled air and excess airflow… this means that the excess airflow helps keep the temperature to a more acceptable level inside the bubble (as exhaled air on its own is quite warm and humid) The powered respirator delivers a generous constant flow of air whether the user is breathing in or not… this gives us the excess flow (we will look at how Powered Respirators work in more detail later) Air management is required to prevent the user re-breathing in their own exhaled air Finally… An exhalation valve to the outside is required to vent the exhaled and excess air
- #62 Make the protective bubble fit a person If we make the bubble fit a person, we can instantly counter two of the main flaws of the bubble We allow movement… the person can walk about normally We allow interaction with the environment through arm and hand movement Note: in this illustration we have shown the Chemprotex II suit
- #63 Comparison between Powered Air suit and SCBA Suit If we add an SCBA suit next to the Powered Air Chemprotex II suit we can immediately see the changes in suit design needed to accommodate the different air supply units inside them… as well as their different air management methods If we continue to think of the Chemprotex II powered air suit as a shaped bubble it will help us to understand how it works far better So lets look at the main principles of its operation…
- #64 How do powered respirators provide protection ? The purpose of this training module is to explain the way powered respirators provide protection Powered respirators do have advantages over many other forms of respiratory protective equipment, but they also have their limitations too By explaining the basic principles early on, your general understanding of the operation of powered respirators should become clearer However, when we place the Powered respirator inside the Chemprotex suit, the dynamics change completely, we will show this later…
- #65 Powered respirator key components Apart from the general construction of the headtop, there are a number of key components , which contribute to the performance of the powered respirator: Electric motor and fan Rechargeable battery Face seal Filter All these components significantly contribute to the supply of filtered air to the user’s breathing zone But if any of the key components are damaged or poorly maintained , protection will be reduced or even stop totally
- #66 How does the flow of air protect the user ? The respirator is designed to provide more air than the user needs most of the time When the user breathes in, whilst working normally, the pressure inside the headtop should still be slightly higher than the air outside Any face seal leaks and ventilation holes should still leak outwards, clean air out , not contaminated air in
- #67 The benefits of a powered respirator In those circumstances where the level of protection is suitable against the identified hazards the benefits of a loose fitting Powered Respirator are… Airborne hazard protection… It provides protection - rather obvious but worth mentioning! Normal breathing effort is required - The powered respirator is drawing the air through the filter for you A refreshing flow of filtered air is delivered to the breathing zone - You don’t even have to go looking for it!…. Exhaled air is flushed out of the breathing area - Taking away moisture which will cause a visor to steam up, and removing the unpleasant stuffiness often experienced when using negative pressure respirators for longer periods So we can say, user comfort is improved when working in airborne hazards - It will aid user comfort where a respirator needs to be worn, particularly in hot and humid environments or when the work rate is higher…. And productivity should increase Long operating times… The device can supply many hours of filtered airflow All of this from a lightweight portable device
- #68 Comparison between inward leakage of a Powered respirator and a powered respirator inside a gas tight suit As we have seen the normal powered respirator attached to a loose fitting hood or helmet will have 5 potential inward leakage points If you now take a Powered Respirator and put it inside a gas tight suit with its filters on the outside suddenly the sources of most of the inward leakage have been eliminated! We are now left with two potential sources of inward leakage… the exhalation valves and the filters… we must now put these sources of inward leakage into perspective… By substituting highly efficient exhalation valves for the exhalation holes we have dramatically reduced the potential for inward leakage at this point The filter efficiency is also extremely high against a wide range of substances (more on this later) We will detail the overall performance of the Chemprotex PRPS system later too
- #69 The gas tight suit So what is protecting the person from making physical contact with the toxic substances, how do we provide such vital protection?
- #70 Tychem TK Our suit material is made from Tychem TK… TychemTK is developed and manufactured by DuPont specifically for protection against gaseous, liquid or solid chemicals It is stringently tested against a wide variety of chemicals and substances used in manufacturing as well as chemical and biological warfare It is described as a material for single use or limited re-use according to strict manufacturers instructions So what is so special about its construction? Over the next few slides we will provide you with the basic principles of how it provides protection, unfortunately, due to the highly sensitive nature surrounding its design and development, we can only provide limited detail
- #71 Tychem TK features So why was Tychem TK chosen? What are it’s features? Outstanding chemical barrier properties … DuPont manufacture a range of chemical suit materials, Tychem TK offers the best protection and usability against the widest range of chemicals It is lightweight, supple and flexible … meaning that it can be used for jobs where agility and comfort are paramount… making it an ideal choice for those needing to work for up to an hour at a time in often demanding conditions High material strength and tear resistance … meaning that the durable material will afford full protection under normal working conditions, however its strength and durability is a compromise due to the high levels of chemical protection being required (there are far more durable materials available but none of them provide these high levels of chemical protection and lightweight construction) Physical properties maintained over a wide temperature range … The suit material remains strong, and supple at varying temperatures e.g if the suit were to be used in freezing conditions, it would still remain supple and strong Non halogenated barrier films used … when disposing of the suit, it can be incinerated (depending on the contaminants present) without polluting the environment with toxic dioxins and other chemicals In addition it can also be buried in a landfill site and will not release harmful chemicals into the soil
- #72 Tychem TK cross section If we look at a cross section of the Tychem TK suit material we immediately notice it consists of a sandwich of 2 layers separated by a white fluffy material! Each layer of the sandwich is securely bonded together and performs a particular function such as: abrasion resistance, flexibility, chemical resistance and tear resistance etc The outside and inside layers are described as a barrier films and they consist of polymer coated non halogenated film which is less than 0.2mm thick The barrier film is a high strength, tear resistant material providing high levels of protection against the permeation of hazardous chemicals yet it still remains remarkably light and flexible
- #73 Tychem TK cross section The polyester nonwoven fabric (the white fluffy bit) separating the barrier films performs a number of functions 2 functions of particular interest are that it: 1) Allows the suit to remain supple by allowing the barrier layers to move independently when the material is flexed 2) Helps buy more time during chemical permeation at a molecular level… in other words, both layers act like separate walls with each having to be broken down for permeation to get through to the inside… the partial void between the two barrier films also helps to dilute the contaminant so that the second barrier film receives a far less concentrated dose In reality the progress of the molecules through the barrier films and the partial void is not linear… it is more like a random walk (one step followed by a second step in any direction and so on) like a very drunk person If we now use an analogy of a castle with an outer and inner wall being attacked by rampaging hoardes, once the hoardes have got through the first wall, they get drunk and then wander about and only a few will try to get through the inner wall! The actual thickness of the fabric is 0.72mm and the separation of the 2 barrier film layers is between 0.42 and 0.32 mm… which to a chemical just desorbing from the first barrier film is a very long way!
- #74 Tychem TK permeability DuPont has carried out extensive tests on the Tychem TK barrier material Currently there are over 6½ pages of permeation test results detailing a wide range of chemical permeation rates The illustration chosen at random indicates how according to BS EN374-3, the Tychem TK material provides in excess of 480 minutes protection against permeation Remember 480 minutes is the maximum duration of the test so it means there was no permeation in 8 hours… the test does not determine eventual breakthrough time though (it may be 9 hours or 9 days etc…) Just out of interest…Dimethylamine is an organic compound which is a liquified flammable gas… it is used as an ingredient in the pharmaceutical industry and as one of the ingredients in the chemical warfare agent Tabun! It is toxic to man and the environment We can provide detailed information relating to permeation characteristics for our suit ensemble for specific substances
- #75 Trapezoidal tear test To simulate the material being pulled and tearing, a trapezoidal tear test is used: ISO 9073 part 4 A rectangle of fabric to be tested is cut out of a sheet and a small cut is made at the mid point at the edge The material is then marked with two lines The material is then twisted so that the lines become parallel The twisted material is clamped in metal jaws The jaws are pulled in opposite directions at a constant rate until the material tears… the load cell on the machine records the force required to tear the material This pull puts a strain on the cut and tests its tear resistance The Tyvek TK material has withstood a class 2 (200N) tear test… to put this in perspective, it is the equivalent of holding the material by the top jaws and hanging a 20kg weight off the bottom jaws to see if it will continue to tear! In everyday life we are all familiar with trying to open a sealed sweet bag, it is only when we put a small cut in the edge that we can make it rip open easily… this test formalises this principle and is designed to test the material at its weakest point Puncture test… this test ensures that the material will withstand the equivalent to a 5kg weight pushing on a test needle to see if it will puncture Hand out samples of Tychem TK to test rips and puncturing with a car key
- #76 Flex cracking test To simulate the material being flexed over a period of time e.g when walking or bending the arms etc… a flex crack test is used: ISO 7854:1997 to ensure that the material will stand up to flexing when in use A strip of material to be tested is wrapped around two cylinders on the flex cracking machine and held in place with clips (the cylinders are X mm in diameter) When the machine is switched on the upper cylinder rapidly moves up and down (x number of flexes per second) causing the material wrapped around it to flex as it compresses (Click again to show compression) Click P or left arrow to reverse flex test and then left click to advance to show animation again The Tychem TK material has gained Class 1 performance which is greater than 1000 flexing cycles without damage The flex cracking test is an extreme test, it is designed to put a lot of stress on the material by compressing a relatively small diameter cone of material, afterwards the material is tested for air tightness (to ensure that all hard to see rips/failures are detected) To put it into perspective, kitchen foil would fail after a couple of cycles on this test apparatus
- #77 Seam design The Tychem TK material we use has to be made into a suit… this inevitably means that it will have to be cut to pattern and then the panels will need to be held together If we think about the way the barrier material is constructed, any stitching could present a leak path for contaminant, either through wicking (capillary action along the stitch fabric) or working through the stitch holes themselves Unfortunately Tychem TK is notoriously difficult to heat weld together, so stitching is the only viable option
- #78 Seam design On this slide are examples of different stitching methods which may be used at various points when fabricating a suit, the red lines represent the stitches To provide gas tightness as well as permeation resistant seams we then over-seal the stitched seam with outer and inner Tychem TK barrier film stripping, glued directly to the suit fabric to prevent contaminant reaching the inside of the suit Because the glue is sealed beneath the chemical resistant barrier film stripping, the only exposure it has to the chemical in question is at its edges For the chemical to destroy the high bond glue, it will in effect need to breach several millimetres of glue thickness In the pictures we can see examples of internal and external suit seams Sample seams are regularly tested for strength of seam and the adhesion of the stripping (this is rigorously tested by the Respirex QA department daily)
- #79 Gas tight zip fastener A zip or zipper is a device for temporarily joining two edges of fabric together. It is widely used in clothing, bags and suitcases etc… in other words since it was invented in 1913 it has found many uses
- #80 Zip flap Unfortunately the Tychem TK suit material is not suitable for providing the compressible gas tight seal as it is a laminate with fibre sandwiched in the middle In its current form, whilst preventing the ingress of a gas, the heavy duty base material we use will not provide the same high levels of protection against chemical splash as Tychem TK We use Tychem TK stripping to cover as much of the base material as possible To rectify not using Tychem TK to seal the 2 halves of the zip we fit the suit with a large flap held down with Velcro to cover the whole zip area In this picture we can see the velcro stitching, this will not breach the Tychem TK beneath as it is sewn onto an additioal layer of Tychem TK which is attached to the suit material in the normal way (stitching & stripping) In tests we have found that it will provide very good protection for the zip area against chemical splash by preventing the chemical from accessing the zip and base material In reality although gases can easily disperse in the air through Brownian motion, it is liquid splash that we are more concerned about when we evaluate permeation protection as the concentrations are so much greater There are many more molecules available per cubic centimetre in a liquid compared to gas molecules which are always far less concentrated per cubic centimetre
- #81 Visor design The visor is fabricated in-house at Respirex … It gives excellent chemical resistance against all the key chemicals that the suit material protects against for greater than 480 minutes (8 hours) In the standard gas tight suit specification, there is a test battery of 15 representative chemicals (the most permeating ones are included in this test)
- #82 Visor design The visor is of a double layer laminated construction The base material is PVC which is flexible and tough Onto the base material Respirex laminates the highly chemical resistant external layer As a result, the visor offers excellent resistance to permeation as well as resistance to degradation (discolouration and cracking) from chemicals including petrochemicals and solvents Why not make the whole suit out of the visor material? Because it is quite thick and does not flex as easily as Tychem TK… flexibility is vital for free movement The visor is then bonded and sealed into the suit and is fully tested for gas tightness (every suit undergoes this test) The combination of a large wrap around visor and total absence of face mask inside the suit provides the user with an unobstructed field of vision In addition, during triage/decontamination, being able to see the face of the person dealing with you is very reassuring and helps with non verbal communication
- #83 Boot attachment The Respirex designed boot attachment used on the Chemprotex suit has been in use since 1999 for emergency team gas tight suits, so it has been well tested in the field Various designs were considered for this suit and it was decided that a non removable attachment would be used as it has a lower profile and will not dig into the calf muscle of the user when kneeling down So how does this attachment work? A boot retaining collar is used to act as the mechanical seal between suit and boot The outer channel at the top of the collar is filled with sealant The suit material is folded back on itself and positioned over the retaining collar and sealant A stainless steel clamp is then tightened around the suit material and sealant creating a gas tight seal between the collar and the suit leg The bottom channel on the collar is also filled with sealant The top of the boot is positioned over the collar and sealant A stainless steel clamp is tightened around the boot rim and sealant creating a gas tight seal between the collar and boot Finally the external collar is pulled up over the stainless steel clamp at the top of the boot to finish it off and provide an easier to clean surface for decontamination purposes
- #84 Boot For the attached boots we have chosen the well proven Bata Hazmax boot which are also used on the Respirex Hot Zone SCBA suit This boot is designed for protecting workforces in numerous applications including: Hazardous Waste, Industrial Chemicals, Emergency Services, Petrochemical, Aluminium and Pharmaceuticals Chemical protection Injection moulded seamless construction… the boot is one continuous moulding which is attached to a separate sole ensuring it is leak proof (in the diagram the green part of the boot is all one moulding) The boot upper and sole are oil resistant to EN345 The boot compound surpasses the NFPA 1991 (the American National Fire Protection Association) requirements Chemical permeation resistance is to EN374-3 Safety Features Slip and Oil resistant vulcanised rubber sole to EN345 SATRA TM 144 Stainless steel toecap (200 joule) providing accessibility to areas requiring high levels of foot protection from crush injuries Stainless steel midsole… favoured by fire brigades as it ensures that sharp objects cannot penetrate the sole and reach the boot moulding
- #85 Glove attachment The gloves used on our suit are replaceable by trained personnel A lipped cone is pushed inside the glove neck (inside both inner and outer gloves) The glove is passed through the cuff ring and pushed tight against the cone inside the glove Inside the cuff ring is an “O” ring which seals against the glove outer surface The outside channel of the cuff ring is filled with sealant The suit arm material is folded back on itself and fitted over the top of the cuff ring A stainless steel clamp is then locked in place over the top of the suit material and sealant… creating a gas tight seal Finally an inner threaded locking ring is inserted into the cuff ring (outside the glove neck) which locks against the lipped cone and holds the glove in place creating another gas tight seal (all materials used are highly resistant to permeation) Note: this system is well proven and is also used on the Respirex hot zone SCBA suit Should a user pull hard on the gloves, the seal will get tighter as the glove pulls the cone tighter into the cuff aperture… in addition, because the suit material is folded back on itself, if the suit arm is pulled very hard against the glove the suit material will not pull out from the cuff The gloves used on our suit are replaceable by undoing the inner threaded ring but for added protection cannot be removed during use
- #86 Gloves There are currently 2 glove options approved for use with the suit: Heavy duty Neoprene dipped glove with knitted cotton lining for heavy duty usage (fire brigade etc) This type of glove is also used on the Respirex SCBA hot zone suit Lighter duty Neoprene glove providing greater dexterity (medical workers etc) A for added dexterity this glove is provided in a range of sizes to match the suit sizes available (see FABs) To ensure high levels of permeation resistance both glove types feature a highly chemical resistant inner glove which is bonded in place preventing inner glove inversion upon removing the hand from the glove (e.g when using a radio inside the suit) The suit is made with a generous “bat wing” upper arm design to enable the user to remove their arm from the suit sleeve whilst in use To manage perspiration inside the glove, optional cotton gloves are recommended
- #87 Valve The suit features 4 highly sensitive one-way diaphragm valves which open and close in a fraction of a second whilst reacting to the pressure inside the suit The majority of the time the valves will remain open allowing the constant 150l/min air flow inside the suit to vent to atmosphere
- #88 Valve features… The valve assembly has a valve cover If we remove the valve cover we can see the exhalation valve closed … And then open (show this sequence several times by using the back arrow or scroll wheel) Around the edge of the valve body we can see a raised section which is part of the labyrinth protecting the valve diaphragm from stray liquid droplets In the second picture we can see the complete valve assembly The valve cover is fitted to protect the diaphragm from direct contact with liquid droplets and other particulates, the cover is held in place with an allen screw Exhalation vents are situated on the underside of the valve assembly and are rearward facing The combination of the labyrinth, valve cover and exhalation vents on the underside provide excellent valve protection during decontamination work and other clean up operations where high pressure showers and sprays may be used In addition the constant flow of 150l/min regularly flushes out any contaminant reaching the valve mechanism To secure the valve assembly against the suit material we also have a wide flange and neoprene gasket
- #89 Suit sizes Our Chemprotex PRPST and PRPS suit range is available in 5 sizes: S, M, L, XL and XXL… experience has shown that these sizes accommodate the fitting requirements of our customers Gloves and boots come pre-attached to the suits We can provide standard size combinations to match the suit (if the customer has no particular preferences… or we can offer individual glove, boot and suit size combinations to accommodate customer preferences e.g M gloves, L suit and size 9 boots etc.
- #92 Suit GasTesting The final test each suit has to go through is the gas tight test Each suit is inflated to XYZ pressure The suit is left for 15 minutes to ensure that it maintains an acceptable pressure according to the European standard Our testing is twice the duration stipulated by the European standard