Strategies to Protect the Health of Deployed U.S. Forces Force Protection and Decontamination (1999) / Chapter Skim
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4 Physical Protection
4 Physical Protection
Pages 67-107
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From page 67... ...
the advent of chemical agents that attacked via the skin (percutaneously) as well as via the respiratory system, which led to the development of personal protective garments and other physical barriers.
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From page 68... ...
, temperature, humidity, and intensity of sunlight can limit or enhance the effectiveness of the initial attack and influence the persistence and concentration of the agent in the target area. Lethal and incapacitating doses for selected chemical agents are shown in Table 4-1.
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From page 69... ...
The new mask (the joint service general purpose mask [ISGPM]
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From page 70... ...
system, which was activated in 1995, can provide three to four minutes advance warning. Thus, troops at MOPP 0 directly below a burst would be exposed to chemical agents for up to eight minutes.
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From page 71... ...
Depending on the outside temperature and the level of work, MOPP postures above MOPP0 can result in the following perfo~ance limitations: speech and communications problems impaired hearing reduced vision (e.g., acuity, field of view, depth perception) difficulty recognizing other individuals in MOPP heat injuries dehydration inadequate nutrition combat stress mood swings and claustrophobia · impaired thinking and judgment reduced manual dexterity In recent years, the impacts of the effects of wearing MOPP on combat operations have been studied extensively during combined arms exercises, field exercises, and laboratory studies.
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From page 72... ...
The order for donning protective equipment, therefore, should be mask, gloves, overgarment, and boots. Because of limitations in equipment design, however, it may not be possible to don equipment in this order.
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From page 73... ...
Army Medical Department doctrine emphasizes the treatment of casualties as far forward as possible and the timely and efficient evacuation of casualties. Task 2.4 of the overall deployed forces study addresses the medical treatment of casualty management (IOM, 1999a)
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From page 74... ...
Modifications in textile materials, including fibers, yarn, and fabric structures, can reduce weight and bulk, improve durability, and reduce heat stress. To reduce weight, fibers of lower density and yarn and fabric structures with low packing density can be used.
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From page 75... ...
Materials that create physically impermeable barriers to chemical agents sacrifice the moisture-vapor permeability of the clothing. Although impermeable barrier materials, such as rubber and coated fabrics, allow some degree of moisture-vapor permeability, it is too low to avoid heat stress and thus decreases the wearer's ability to accomplish a mission.
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From page 76... ...
~. The newer approach is to use a semipermeable fabric and a sorptive layer that can filter out/decompose chemical agents or to use selectively permeable membrane materials.
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From page 77... ...
77 (a ~ o (a to o Q (a .
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From page 78... ...
with water r~n~ll~n~v treatment FIGURE 4-2 Components of a typical current barrier system. Inner layer polyurethane foam activated carbon powder binder Liner 2 oz/yd2 black nylon tricot once contaminated and has a field durability of 22 days (U.S.
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From page 79... ...
and more times; the outer shell materials are stronger and more durable; the sorptive liner materials are cleaner and more breathable; the integrated hood increases the protection capabilities of the suit; the raglan sleeve allows more freedom of movement; the integrated suspenders allow for optimal individual fitting; and lighter weight reduces heat stress. In addition to improving the ratio of work to rest time, ISLIST garments are designed to be more accurately sized, fitted, and worn by both male and female service personnel.
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From page 80... ...
The vapor protective undergarment (VPU) is a Special Operations Forces requirement of interest to the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, which would provide 12 hours of protection against 10 g/m2 liquid agent and 10,000 mg-min/m3 vapor/aerosols for 30 days of field wear.
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From page 81... ...
These include mechanisms in the nose, throat, and conductive airways and a system of branching tubes that conduct air to the gas exchange region to protect the more sensitive gas exchange, or alveolar, region from chemicals at low concentrations and from chemicals with low acute toxicity. These defenses cannot, however, protect against the highly toxic and rapidly acting chemical warfare agents to which deployed forces may be exposed.
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From page 82... ...
are designed to use NATO standard filter canisters. In addition, masks must be capable of being combined with other protective clothing as part of a fully integrated protective suit, and they must provide laser and ballistic fragmentation eye protection.
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From page 83... ...
They have longer service life than tanked compressed air, but the mask may be under negative pressure creating a risk of fire or explosion from the use of oxygen and possible leaks of the strongly caustic materials used for carbon dioxide scrubbing if water gets into the system (e.g., during decontamination operations)
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From page 84... ...
Three levels of tests can be used to evaluate fit. The simplest and least precise is subjective "fit checks," such as negative pressure tests and positive pressure tests.
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From page 85... ...
The Army has also begun to issue the M41 mask fit testing unit for field deployment. It is not clear, however, if the Army's mask donning training is universal or whether appropriate joint service doctrine has been developed for mask fit testing.
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From page 86... ...
, which is designed to meet the needs of Air Force ground crews, Navy shipboard and shorebased support missions, and Marine Corps rotary-wing forces, will be used until the ISGPM is fielded. The MCU-2A/P uses a replaceable, standard NATO filter canister mounted on the left or right side.
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From page 87... ...
Gloves Current glove technology is based on the use of impermeable materials. Future developments will be able to take advantage of lighter weight materials that will provide better tactile responses and can take advantage of supplementary protection from barrier creams (described in "Barrier Creams" section below)
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From page 88... ...
The outer glove provides protection against chemical agents and comes in three thickness, 7 mil (0.007 inch thick) , 14 mil (0.014 inch thick)
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From page 89... ...
Key requirements for the MULO are to provide 24 hours of protection against 10 g/m2 challenge by all liquid agents; resistance to incidental splashing by petroleum, oils, and lubricants; selfextinguishing flame resistance; 60 days wear in all geographical areas without degradation of protection; and the capability of being decontaminated to an operationally safe level using standard decontaminants. Improvements of this boot over the previous GVO/BVO include more durability, lighter weight, and better CB protection (DoD, 1998b)
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From page 90... ...
to quantify the effects of wearing protective clothing on the performance of military tasks. This program has five operational areas: maintenance operations, night reconnaissance operations, missile operations, armor operations, and signal operations.
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From page 91... ...
Army, 1994~. · Night vision devices could not be used while personnel were wearing masks (U.S.
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From page 92... ...
Army, 1994~. · Performance of projected sortie generation capability decreased with increasing levels of individual protection (Gawron et al., 1998~.
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From page 93... ...
This problem led to the development of a litter made of monofilament polypropylene, which has high tensile strength and low elasticity. The fabric, a honeycomb weave through which liquid passes easily, does not absorb liquid chemical agents, is not degraded by current decontaminating solutions, is flame retardant, is rip resistant, and is treated to withstand exposure to weather and sunlight.
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From page 94... ...
Barrier creams are being investigated and evaluated for use in combat. COLLECTIVE PROTECTION Risks, Challenges, and Requirements CPE provides a relatively unencumbered safe environment in which eating, surgery, and other activities can be performed.
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From page 95... ...
Challenges for protecting crews in vehicles include integrating collective protection measures into vehicle designs. Improved protection in any environment depends on filtration and adsorbent technologies, as well as the availability of protective equipment.
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From page 96... ...
Filter Residual Life Indicator The filter residual life indicator detects an adsorption wave within the carbon bed of the filter to monitor the residual absorption capacity of inservice activated carbon air purification devices. The detector technology consists of a chemoselective polymer-coated surface acoustic wave (SAW)
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From page 97... ...
M20A1/M28 Simplified Collective Protective Equipment. The simplified collective protective equipment is used to convert an interior room of an existing structure into a positive overpressure, NBC collective protection shelter for command, control, and communications, medical treatment, and soldier relief.
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From page 98... ...
An airlock allows for decontamination of entering personnel and for purging of chemical agent vapors. The support kit contains a motoriblower assembly that supplies air to the system and flexible ducts that guide the air to the hermetically sealed filter canister and then to the shelter.
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From page 99... ...
. The modular collective protection equipment system is a family of equipment designed to provide positive-pressure NBC protection for a variety of vans, vehicles, and shelters.
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From page 100... ...
Typical specifications for a military air-purification device for individual protection are listed in Table 4-6 (Kuhlmann, 1998~. The aerosol/particulate-matter filter is built up of layers of glass fibers, and the space between the fibers is large in relation to the size of the aerosol/particulate matter in contaminated air streams.
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From page 101... ...
Other absorbents have been evaluated, but none was found to be superior to activated carbon in removing chemical agents from contaminated air streams. Activated carbon is produced by heating charcoal with carbon dioxide or steam at 800° to 1,000°C.
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From page 102... ...
The absorption capacities of carbon fiber-based absorbents have been found to be greater than those of granulated activated carbons. The advantages of using fiber-based absorbents in individual protection airpurification devices would be lower pressure drop, smaller volume, and lower mass.
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From page 103... ...
The alternative system would have to be completely regenerable so that the absorbents would not have to be replaced, and the time the air-purification device operates in the absorption mode would have to be adjusted to ensure that the mass-transfer front of the most volatile impurity does not endanger personnel. Activated carbon outperformed polymeric resins and molecular sieves in a pressure-swing absorption system for regenerating airpurification media used to collect chemical agents (Starlings, 1984~.
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From page 104... ...
Recommendation. A total systems analysis, including human factors engineering evaluations, should be part of the development process of the personal protective equipment system to ensure that the equipment can be used with weapon systems and other military equipment.
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From page 105... ...
Recommendation. Doctrine, training, and equipment for mask fit testing should be incorporated into current joint service operations.
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From page 106... ...
But impermeable barriers cause serious heat stress because they trap bodily moisture vapor inside the system. Permeable systems, which breathe and allow moisture vapor to escape, cannot fully protect against aerosol and liquid agents.
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From page 107... ...
The Department of Defense should assess the needs of deployed forces for collective protection units in light of changing threats and the development of new personal protective equipment and provide adequate supplies of such equipment to deployed forces.
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