N021
Respirator
Performance During Military Field Trials
Sven van der Gijp and
Leo Steenweg
TNO PML
Lange Kleiweg 137,
Tel: +31 15 284 3402 Fax: +31 15 284 3963
e-mail: gijp@pml.tno.nl
ABSTRACT
Uncertainty exists about the
real protection offered by military gas masks when used in the field. In civil applications, it has been known
that Work Place Protection Factors (WPPF) may deviate considerably in an
unfavourable manner from nominal protection factors, determined under
laboratory conditions. For this reason, PML and DSTL developed a
method for assessing the protection factor of military gas masks in the field
situation; the resulting field protection factor is comparable to the civil
WPPF. Characteristic for
the method is that the test subject is capable of performing normal duty
activities. The method includes
the use of the TSI Portacount, that measures the ratio of the outside and inside ambient
air dust concentrations. The use of an air pressure sensor inside the mask and
of an accelerator sensor on the mask, allows the monitoring of breathing and
head movement effects. In this paper, the results of a
joint UK-Dutch field trial are presented. Special attention is given to the breathing
patterns of soldiers and the corresponding protection levels of the
FM12-respirator during shooting, digging, decontamination and patrolling
exercises.