Chemical Protective Suits Research Articles

Evaluation of CBRN Preparedness of German Hospitals with Higher Level of Care: A Cross- Sectional Survey.

Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) events with multiple casualties are rare events, but preparedness is crucial for hospitals to respond properly. This study evaluated the preparedness and disaster planning of German hospitals for CBRN incidents. In a cross-sectional study, German hospitals with level III (highest level) emergency departments were surveyed using an online questionnaire focusing on risk assessment, infrastructure, hospital disaster planning, and preparedness for CBRN events. Between June and July 2023, 50 hospitals were surveyed. 62.5% of the hospitals had a section on chemical incidents in their disaster plan. A decontamination facility was available in 29.8% of the hospitals and chemical protective suits in 46.8%. The minority of the hospitals trained the correct handling of personal protective equipment (PPE) (39.1%) regularly or had frequent CBRN drills (21.3%). Most hospitals had the infrastructure for medical isolation (93.6%). The level of CBRN preparedness is heterogeneous for German hospitals. Most were well prepared for infectious patients, but only half of all hospitals had sufficient PPE for chemical incidents and only 30% had a decontamination facility available. Overall, the level of CBRN preparedness is still insufficient and needs further improvement.

Quantitative Comparison of two Chemical Biological Protective Suits: The Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology (JSLIST) and the Tactical Advanced Threat Protective Ensemble (TATPE)

Quantitative Comparison of two Chemical Biological Protective Suits: The Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology (JSLIST) and the Tactical Advanced Threat Protective Ensemble (TATPE)

The Utilization of Hospital-Based Decontamination Facility for Chemical Incidents

Introduction:The constraints of performing prehospital decontamination in mass casualty incidents involving the release of chemical agents at disaster sites in modern cities are notable. Compounding this are highly built-up urban areas with significantly high population density and traffic congestion. This places the burden of performing such decontamination on nearby healthcare facilities. Based on this need, public hospitals in Singapore have been equipped with decontamination facilities. We present a review of the utilization of this facility at our institution.Method:A retrospective review of the utilization of the hospital decontamination station (HDS) was carried out, noting its frequency, purpose, and outcomes.Results:Since its construction, the HDS has been deployed successfully many times a year for both routine training and disaster preparedness exercises. Despite the lockdown measures due to Covid-19, with concomitant reduction in social and economic activity, the HDS was activated five times for decontamination of chemical contaminated casualties. It is fortunate that, although HDS training activities were curtailed during this period, emergency department (ED) staff were still able to function effectively using prior experience, donning chemical protective suits, and performing decontamination. The semi-automated HDS facilitated rapid deployment which contributed to ease of use of this resource for timely decontamination of casualties with good outcomes.Conclusion:Chemical incidents resulting in contaminated casualties are uncommon events. Nonetheless hospitals must be prepared to deal with this situation in a timely manner. The rapidly deployable HDS has become an important resource and an operationally ready solution for dealing with chemical contaminated casualties presenting at short notice to the ED. Regular training and deployment exercises utilizing the HDS provide staff familiarity critical to overall readiness for chemical incidents. This strategy provides a reliable countermeasure in an all-hazards approach to disaster preparedness at the hospital.

Development of a Novel Positive Pressure Protective Suit for a Biosafety Level 4 Laboratory in Japan.

Biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratories are necessary to study microorganisms that are highly pathogenic to humans and have no prevention or therapeutic measures. Currently, most BSL-4 facilities have suit-type laboratories to conduct experiments on highly pathogenic microorganisms. In 2021, the first Japanese suit-type BSL-4 laboratory was constructed at Nagasaki University. Positive pressure protection suit (PPPS) is a primary barrier that protects and isolates laboratory workers from pathogens and the laboratory environment. Here, we developed a novel PPPS originally designed to be used in the Nagasaki BSL-4 laboratory. We modified several parts of a domestic chemical protective suit, including its front face shield, cuff, and air supply hose, for safe handling of microbiological agents. The improved suit, PS-790BSL4-AL, showed resistance to several chemicals, including quaternary ammonium disinfectant, and did not show any permeation against blood and phages. To validate the suit's integrity, we also established an airtight test that eliminated individual differences for quantitative testing. In conclusion, our developed suit performs sufficiently as a primary barrier and allows for the safe handling of pathogens in our new BSL-4 laboratory.

Superelastic, Breathable, and High-Barrier Nanofibrous Membranes with Biomimetic ECM Structure for Toxic Chemical Protection.

As the last line of protection for humans, chemical protective suits provided safe and effective protection where chemical warfare agents (CWAs) or chemical reagents leaked; however, the existing chemical protective clothing had poor wearing pressure comfort due to the limitation of inherent materials. Herein, we reported a scalable strategy to fabricate chemical protective fabric (CPF) with a biomimetic extracellular matrix (ECM) barrier layer composed of an elastic fiber framework based on the cross-linked nanofiber membrane and the styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SBS)/acticarbon matrix. The construction of the reliable and strategical biomimetic ECM structure succeeded in fulfilling hazardous chemical barrier properties, recoverable deformation, and thermal comfort improvement. The resulting CPF exhibited waterproofness with exceeding 200 kPa hydrostatic pressure and exceptional WVT of 550.96 g m-2 d-1, rapid elastic recovery from a strain of 80%, high-cycle fatigue resistance, superior barrier performance against toxic chemicals, and keeping CEES resistance after 100 tensile loading cycles. The successful preparation of the fascinating biomimetic nanofibrous membrane may provide a particular research foundation for developing chemical protective clothing in the future.

Wearing Acceptability of Chemical Protective Clothing during Fire Training

The aim of this study was to investigate the wearing acceptability of chemical protective clothing during fires and to provide basic data for the safety of firefighters. The results of the study were as follows: Wearer acceptabilities of chemical protective clothing under static movement (e.g., looking at the ceiling with maximum head bending, wrapping one’s arms around oneself, sitting obliquely on the floor, and maintaining a crouching position) were 21.7%–47.8% lower than those of general uniforms. When wearing chemical protective suits, the acceptability under static movement was statistically low (p < .001). Wearer acceptabilities of chemical protective clothing under dynamic movement (e.g., running, lifting a heavy object (20 kg) up to the waist, lifting and moving a heavy object (20 kg) by 1 m, lifting a stretcher and walking forward, and lifting a stretcher and walking backward) were 19.2%–47.8% lower than those of general uniforms. When wearing chemical protective suits, the acceptability under dynamic movement was also statistically low (p < .001).

Chemical Protection Studies of Activated Carbon Spheres based Permeable Protective Clothing Against Sulfur Mustard, a Chemical Warfare Agent

Technological advancements in the field of chemical threat have made it possible to create extremely dangerous chemical warfare agents (CWA). Hence, the effective protection of personnel is very important in a chemical warfare scenario amidst the current climate of terrorism awareness. In particular, body protection plays a substantial role in the chemical defence considering the urgency of situation in the nuclear, biological and chemical environment. Activated carbon spheres (ACS) based permeable chemical protective clothing (coverall) was developed for protection against CWA. The adsorbent material i.e, ACS used in this protective clothing provided higher adsorption capacity (1029 mg/g in terms of iodine) and low thermal burden (34 °C WBGT index) compared to earlier indigenously developed NBC suit. This article focuses on the extensive evaluation of chemical protective clothing against sulfur mustard (HD), a CWA. The results revealed that the developed protective clothing provided more than 24 h protection against HD. This chemical protective suit is light weight (< 2.75 kg for XL size). It also has higher air permeability (> 30 cm3/s/cm2) as well as less water vapour resistance (< 9.6 m2Pa/W). With continued innovations in materials and attention to key challenges it is expected that advanced, multifunction chemical protective suit will play a pivotal role in the CWA protection scenario.

Acute intensive care unit management of mustard gas victims: the Turkish experience

Purpose: Sulphur mustard (SM) is an highly toxic and vesicant chemical weapon that was used in various military conflicts several times in the history. The severity of ocular, dermal, and pulmonary symptoms that may appear following a characteristic asymptomatic period are depending on the SM concentration and exposure duration. The aim of this study is to present the clinical features and share the intensive care unit (ICU) experiences for the medical management of mustard gas victims.Materials and methods: Thirteen Free Syrian Army soldiers near Al-Bab region of North Syria were reportedly exposed to oily blackish smoke with garlic smell due to the explosion of a trapped bomb without causing any blast or thermal effect on 26th November 2016. None of them wore any chemical protective suits or gas masks during explosion. Since they observed skin lesions including bullous formation next day, they were admitted to the Turkish Field Hospital at the Turkish – Syrian border and then evacuated to the State Hospital of Gaziantep Province, Turkey for further management. Eight victims who were very close to point of explosion suffered burning eyes, sore throat, dry cough and dyspnoea after the chemical attack.Results: On admission to hospital, all cases had conjunctivitis, hoarseness and bullae on various body areas. Blepharospasm and opacity were found in 8 patients and 5 of them had corneal erosions and periorbital oedema. Temporary loss of vision in 4 cases lasted for 24 h. Multiple fluid-filled blisters were observed especially on the scalp, neck, arms and hands, where direct skin exposure to the agent occurred. A definitive clinical care and infection prophylaxis measures along with the burn treatment and bronchodilators for respiratory effects were applied in ICU. Two patients received granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor due to the SM-mediated bone marrow suppression on the 16th day of exposure and one of them died because of necrotic bronchial pseudomembrane obstruction resulting in cardiopulmonary arrest.Conclusions: SM was first used during the First World War and it is still considered one of the major chemical weapons recently used by non-state actors in Syria and Iraq. In case of SM exposure, medical treatment of SM-induced lesions is symptomatic because no antidote or causal therapy does exist even though SM is very well known for over 100 years. However, clinical management in intensive care medicine of SM victims have improved since the 1980s, this study which is one of the largest recent SM-exposed case series since that time is important for the contribution to the clinical experience.

Wearable physiological monitoring for human thermal-work strain optimization.

Safe performance limits of soldiers and athletes have typically relied on predictive work-rest models of ambient conditions, average work intensity, and characteristics of the population. Bioengineering advances in noninvasive sensor technologies, including miniaturization, reduced cost, power requirements, and comfort, now make it possible to produce individual predictions of safe thermal-work limits. These precision medicine assessments depend on the development of thoughtful algorithms based on physics and physiology. Both physiological telemetry and thermal-strain indexes have been available for >50 years, but greater computing power and better wearable sensors now make it possible to provide actionable information at the individual level. Core temperature can be practically estimated from time series heart rate data and, using an adaptive physiological strain index, provides meaningful predictions of safe work limits that cannot be predicted from only core temperature or heart rate measurements. Early adopters of this technology include specialized occupations where individuals operate in complete encapsulation such as chemical protective suits. Emerging technologies that focus on heat flux measurements at the skin show even greater potential for estimating thermal-work strain using a parsimonious sensor set. Applications of these wearable technologies include many sports and military training venues where inexperienced individuals can learn effective work pacing strategies and train to safe personal limits. The same strategies can also provide a technologically based performance edge for experienced workers and athletes faced with novel and nonintuitive physiological challenges, such as health care providers in full protective clothing treating Ebola patients in West Africa in 2014. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This mini-review details how the application of computational techniques borrowed from signal processing and control theory can provide meaningful advances for the applied physiological problem of real-time thermal-work strain monitoring. The work examines the development of practical core body temperature estimation techniques and how these can be used in combination with current and updated thermal-work strain indexes to provide objective state assessments and to optimize work rest schedules for a given task.

Fluid replacement advice during work in fully encapsulated impermeable chemical protective suits

ABSTRACTA major concern for responders to hazardous materials (HazMat) incidents is the heat strain that is caused by fully encapsulated impermeable chemical protective suits. In a research project, funded by the US Department of Defense, the thermal strain experienced when wearing these suits was studied. One particular area of interest was the fluid loss of responders during work in these suits as dehydration may be an additional health concern to the heat strain. 17 City of Raleigh firemen and 24 students were tested at two different labs. Subjects between the ages of 25 and 51 were used for human subject trials in a protocol approved by the local ethical committee. Six different Level A HazMat suits were evaluated in three climates: moderate (24°C, 50% RH, 20°C WBGT), warm-wet (32°C, 60% RH, 30°C WBGT), and hot-dry (45°C, 20% RH, 37°C WBGT, 200 W/m2 radiant load) and at three walking speeds: 2.5 km/hr, 4 km/hr, and 5.5 km/hr. 4 km/hr was tested in all three climates and the other two walking speeds were tested in the moderate climate. Weight loss data was collected to determine fluid loss during these experiments. Working time ranged from as low as 20 min in the hot-dry condition to 60 min (the maximum) in the moderate climate, especially common at the lowest walking speed. The overall results from all experiments showed that fluid loss ranged from 0.2–2.2 L during these exposures, with the average fluid loss being 0.8 L, with 56% of the data between 0.5 L and 1 L of fluid loss. Further analysis showed that a suggestion of drinking 0.7 Liter per hour would safely hydrate over 50% of responders after one work-rest cycle. Applying this fluid volume over three work-rest cycles only put 11% of responders at risk of hypohydration vs. the 57% at risk with no fluid intake.

Protecting Workers During Crude Oil Derailment Response

ABSTRACT: 2017-215Protecting hazardous material (HAZMAT) responders during the response and remediation of crude oil derailments challenges the normal conventions of worker protection and personal protective equipment (PPE). Hazards associated with crude oil derailment response such as chemical exposure, fire, water, and thermal stress require adaptation of worker protection and PPE to address worker safety. Traditional approaches to worker protection, in some cases, do not fully protect the HAZMAT responder with regard to the variety of hazards present at a crude oil derailment site. Those responsible for establishing worker protection and PPE must closely analyze all hazards present and alter process and/or PPE based on the most aggressive and predominant hazard for a specific task. Broad application of respiratory protection may protect only a small portion of workers from chemical exposure while adding additional hazards to other workers who are not at risk of exposure based on proximity or duration of their work task. In many cases, chemical protective suits are used to protect workers from skin contact and heavy soiling to clothes. With chemical suits, there is an increased risk of heat stress, loss of coordination and mobility, and other unintended hazards; therefore, a thorough risk assessment must be completed to determine if chemical suits are appropriate and if adaptations to chemical suits are required to reduce these additional hazards to cleanup workers. Furthermore, at derailment sites where large quantities of crude oil have been spilled, cleanup activities should be altered during hot work or during active fires to limit the presence of nearby workers conducting oil cleanup operations. It is the responsibility of those directing safety and operations to work closely together and agree upon operational periods and PPE, while adapting where necessary to protect all workers during each day of the response.

Variability in Human Responses when working in Chemical protective Impermeable Suits

Variability in Human Responses when working in Chemical protective Impermeable Suits

Thermal Burden Optimization on CB Protective Suits Using New Materials and Innovative Design

Abstract A new mission needs new or adapted equipment. Being necessary to operate more and more frequently in warm climates and considering the new requirements for chemical and biological (CB) protective suits, it was necessary to study new materials and concepts of operation for the existing CB air permeable suits. The paper presents the new requirements for reduced thermal burden protective suits, the tools for the evaluation of thermal burden and also some results of the conducted researches. The experimental results led us to a new concept in designing a suit for CB protection and also to produce a prototype batch.

Fluid Loss and Individual Differences During Work in Fully Encapsulated Impermeable Chemical Protective Suits

Fluid Loss and Individual Differences During Work in Fully Encapsulated Impermeable Chemical Protective Suits

Nanotechnology – a new route to high-performance functional textiles

The use of nanomaterials- and nanotechnology-based processes is growing at a tremendous rate in all fields of science and technology. Textile industry is also experiencing the benefits of nanotechnology in its diverse field of applications. Textile-based nanoproducts starting from nanocomposite fibers, nanofibers to intelligent high-performance polymeric nanocoatings are getting their way not only in high performance advanced applications but nanoparticles are also successfully being used in conventional textiles to impart new functionality and improved performance. Greater repeatability, reliability and robustness are the main advantages of nanotechnological advancements in textiles. Nanoparticle application during conventional textile processing techniques, such as finishing, coating and dyeing, enhances the product performance manifold and imparts hitherto unachieved functionality. New coating techniques like sol-gel, layer-by-layer, plasma polymerization etc. can develop multi-functionality, intelligence, excellent durability and weather resistance to fabrics. The present paper focuses on the development and potential applications of nanotechnology in developing multifunctional and smart nanocomposite fibers, nanofibers and other new finished and nanocoated textiles. The four main areas of textile chemical processing, namely nanofinishing, nanocoating, nanocomposite coating and nanodyeing, are covered in the first section of this paper and the second section deals with developments in nanocomposite fibers and nanofibers. The influence of nanomaterials in textile finishing and processing to enhance product performance is discussed. Nanocoating is a relatively new technique in the textile field and is currently under research and development. Polymeric nanocomposite coatings, where nanoparticles are dispersed in polymeric media and used for coating applications, are the most promising route to develop multifunctional and intelligent high-performance textiles. Not much research has been done on applying the concept of nanotechnology in dyeing of textiles except a few reports on dye particle size reduction, structural change in fibers or the surface etching of textiles to create nanostructured surfaces. The reduction in water consumption during nanotechnology applications in textile processing has the potential to control the effluent problems of a textile process house. The most researched area to produce multifunctional, smart fibers is the preparation of nanocomposite fibers where the exceptional properties of nanoparticles have been utilized to enhance and impart several functionalities on conventional textile grade fibers. Nanofibers are gaining popularity in some specialized technical applications such as filter fabric, antibacterial patches and chemical protective suits. Nanotechnological advances in these two areas of nanocomposite fibers and nanofibrous forms have also been reviewed.

The effects of chemical protective suits on human performance

Workers in the chemical industry are often required to wear protective suits while performing tasks. While these suits can be life saving, they increase the difficulty and discomfort faced by the wearer. This research explores the performance of individuals wearing the highly cumbersome Level A suit. The suits are heat-retentive and can cause fatigue that affects performance by increasing response time and decreasing accuracy. Members of Missouri’s Civil Support Team (CST) served as subjects for this research. They conducted fine and gross motor tests. Their completion time and accuracy were evaluated both out-of-suit and in-suit for the Level A chemical protective suits. A t-test was conducted to evaluate the effect of the Level A suits on performance. Results showed a significant increase in completion time and errors for gross motor tasks. This type of task had up to a 103% increase in time required and up to a 34% decrease in accuracy. The suit’s impact on fine motor skill was also significant, but to a lesser extent. Repeated measures test was performed to evaluate any potential time-in-suit effect. A decrease in mean task completion time was observed for some of the tasks. There was a corresponding decrease in accuracy but no consistent time-in-suit effect was identified. The results indicate the need for care when designing procedures and equipement to be used by humans wearing restrictive PPE. It is important to take human limitations into consideration in the design phase in order to decrease the need for human adaptation and increase system safety. To achieve this, understanding human factors is imperative when designing equipment, tasks, or procedures for workers wearing PPE.

014 Learning effect of repeat clinical skill performance in a CBRN suit

IntroductionDue to an increasing risk of hazardous chemical terrorist attack and the need for rapid emergency medical care to be provided to the victims, the NHS is expecting frontline emergency...

A CB Protective Firefighter Turnout Suit

This paper describes research that developed a prototype chemical and biological (CB) protective firefighter suit. It is presented as a case study demonstrating an integrated systems approach to designing, developing and evaluating a protective clothing ensemble based on end user requirements. It includes a discussion of the process that was used to gain an understanding of firefighter performance needs for a structural turnout suit that also incorporated chemical protection. It describes the design features of the turnout suit that were developed to meet these expectations as well as the program of testing and evaluation used to characterize garment performance. It discusses ensemble level performance evaluations in instrumented fire manikin tests and man-in-stimulant test procedures. It describes studies conducted to determine the impact of prototype garment design features on heat stress, wear comfort and ergonomic function in structural firefighting applications.

Evaluation of in vitro tests to assess the efficacy of formulations as topical skin protectants against organophosphorus compounds

Prevention of exposure to the neurotoxic organophosphorus compounds (OP) is a major concern both for pesticide users and soldiers. Skin barrier creams are being developed to complement or replace uncomfortable chemical protective suits. Quick evaluation of formulations efficacy mainly relies on in vitro tests which lead to consistent, complementary and relevant results. The objectives of this work were to determine the consistency of results from in vitro tests and importance of the formulation composition in the skin protective efficacy. The efficacy of three formulations, i.e. oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions and perfluorinated compounds-based cream, was evaluated against the OP paraoxon in vitro. Our results indicated that the least effective formulations could be quickly identified by performing in vitro permeation tests with silicone membrane and by evaluating interfacial interactions between formulations and OP. Among the tested formulations, the perfluorinated compounds-based cream could have a broader spectrum of efficacy than emulsions against OP and other toxic chemicals.

Field protection effectiveness of chemical protective suits and gloves evaluated by biomonitoring

Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of protective suits and gloves by biomonitoring. Methods: Fifteen male spray painters at a ship coating factory were studied for two weeks. Workers wore no...