Protection testing measures up
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) demonstrated a new, real-time method of measuring chemical warfare agent penetration eneath a clothing system using Ion-Mobility Spectrometry (IMS).
Real-time, in-suit monitoring of protective clothing systems provide concentration-time rofiles and enable the protective performance of a clothing system to be quantified as a function of time. From this data, it is possible to determine when physiologically critical exposure dosages occur and provide detailed information on suit performance. The current sampling technique uses Passive Adsorbent Dosimeters (PADs) and dosimeter tubes, to determine the mas that has been adsorbed.
Successful trials have now been carried out using IMS in the form of a Lightweight Chemical Detector (LCD) as a real-time monitor for the measurement of the blister agent sulphur mustard beneath an experimental suit system. This is believed to be the first demonstration of a concentration-time profile of a live chemical warfare agent measured beneath a clothing system. In addition to greatly improving full-system test procedures using Dstl’s ‘Porton Man’ animated mannequin, this research could lead to improved toxicological assessments and provide a far more detailed evaluation of military and civilian protective clothing systems.