A Potential Field Expedient Test for Face Mask Integrity

In the battlefield situation, soldiers must don their protective masks when a chemical or biological threat is suspected (Figure 1). Once the soldier had donned his mask, proper fit is essential for maximum respiratory, eye, and skin protection in contaminated environments. Therefore, the assurance...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Krishnan, P N, Birenzvige, A, Poziomek, E J
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
AEROSOLS
ARMY PERSONNEL
AS553
BATTLEFIELDS
BIOLOGICAL WARFARE
CHEMICAL WARFARE
Chemical, Biological and Radiological Warfare
CIGARETTE SMOKE
CONTAMINATION
DETECTION
EYE
FACE(ANATOMY)
GAS MASKS
INSTRUMENTATION
LABORATORY TESTS
PE62706A
PERFORMANCE(ENGINEERING)
PROTECTION
PROTECTIVE FACTOR
PROTECTIVE MASKS
SENSITIVITY
TEST AND EVALUATION
THREATS
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Summary:In the battlefield situation, soldiers must don their protective masks when a chemical or biological threat is suspected (Figure 1). Once the soldier had donned his mask, proper fit is essential for maximum respiratory, eye, and skin protection in contaminated environments. Therefore, the assurance of proper fit after mask donning is of primary importance. In the laboratory evaluation of the protective masks, the leakage of a challenged aerosol is quantitatively measured using very sensitive detection instrumentation. A study was conducted to determine the feasibility of developing a field expedient method to test the integrity of a face mask. Cursory observation indicates that tobacco smoke odor can provide a protection factor on the order of 3000 which represents a potentially significant improvement over the protection factor provided by isoamyl acetate (banana oil), which is of the order 500 or less. Keywords: Isoamyl acetate, Negative pressure test, Field trials, Breathing devices, Protective equipment, Test methods, Protective factor, Sensory perception, Mask Fitness, Odor sensitivity, Tobacco odor, Banana oil.