Advanced Models of Personal Protective Equipment for Ground Forces Against Chemical and Biological Weapons Effects

Abstract

Modern personal protective equipment for military personnel against the damaging factors of chemical and biological weapons (CBW) does not always allow to achieve an acceptable combination of body armor, protective helmet, respiratory and skin protective equipment from vapors and aerosols of toxic substances (TS) and biological agents (BA) in one set of equipment. The purpose of the work is to propose a promising form of personal protective equipment for Ground Forces servicemen against the damaging factors of chemical and biological weapons. The main characteristic feature of the existing gas masks is the invariable level of protection against the damaging factors of CBW. However, they do not provide protection for the head of servicemen from bullets and shrapnel. Based on the fact that danger levels for military personnel in case of a CBW attack differ and depend on the type of agent and on the time elapsed after the attack, the authors propose to combine a gas mask and a helmet in one product and to install disk filtering and sorbing elements (PSE) in the temporal region of the protective helmet with an air-duct, connected with an elastic half mask. The first universal PSE (sorbing-filtering) has the characteristics of a gas mask (shortness of breath) for protection from poisonous substances and biological agents in conditions of uncertainty of their use. It is transferred to the firing position simultaneously with the lowering of the visor. The second PSE possesses the parameters of a respirator (sorbing-filtering for easier breathing) for protection against TS. The second PSE should be used after the establishment of the fact of chemical, biological or radioactive contamination within an hour after the use of weapons of mass destruction. Thus, the main part of the soldier's head will be protected against bullets and shrapnel, as well as against TS and BA. To protect the lower part of the soldier's face (the chin, jaws and neck), it is proposed to use a circular elastic strip with a nasolabial device (screen) in the form of a half mask.