Monday, August 8, 2011

British demonstrate protective gear for latex clothing warfare use



British makers of protective gear for nuclear, chemical and biological warfare have mounted an effort to sell their latest Latex Clothing for aircrews and ground personnel to the U.S. Defense Dept. and outlet licenses for the Latex Clothing to U.S. industry.
"We think the U.K. has in service equipment better than that of the U.S.," Brian M. Webster, British Embassy defense sales counselor for the British Ministry of Defense, said.  The U.S. is improving its chemical warfare defense, but officials said much remains to be done before U.S. Air Forces in Europe can match Warsaw Pact capability .The British Embassy sponsored an exhibit of the equipment recently to boost the sales campaign.
Remploy, Ltd., of London, manufactures a perspiration-permeable coverall with hood and socks it said is cool enough for sustained vigorous activity when worn under a Nomex flight suit and standard helmet.Gen. John W. Pauly, USAFE commander, said the U.S. carbon-foam suit causes a loss of groundcrew capability by restricting movement and generating heat .  USAF flightcrews use the British coveralls.
The British coverall's material, produced by Bondina, Ltd., of Halifax, is a Latex Catsuits-bonded nylon sprayed with an inner layer of activated charcoal.  The nylon is treated with liquid fluorocarbon to repel toxic agents such as hydrogen cyanide, nerve gas, anthrax bacteria and mustard gas.  The charcoal absorbs any poison that penetrates the treated fabric and has a shelf life of five years.
An official of the Chemical Defense Laboratory of the British Ministry of Defense said the material is effective for 24 hr. in a dense toxic environment.  The Royal Air Force issues six sets of the disposable Latex Clothing to flight crewmembers, and the British army uses the Bondina fabric weighing 200 grams/meter<2> for its M.3 chemical-warfare uniform.  The laboratory official said the flame-retardant fabric also provides protection against nuclear fallout and some of the heat from a nuclear explosion.
The Royal Air Force is equipping aircrews with the AR 5 respirator produced by BOC Aviation of Harlow.  The Neoprene assembly of hood, goggles and respirator requires positive ventilation and to prevent myosis provides a ventilation line and chamber for the eyes separate from that for breathing.  The assembly is tested for reliability under acceleration of 5.5g and has low-pressure fittings for primary and emergency oxygen suitable for operation below 43,000 ft. Richmond Electronics, Ltd., of Hertfordshire and ML Aviation Co., Ltd., of Maidenhead manufacture positive ventilation systems for the respirator using charcoal and particulate filters.Industry and Defense Dept. representatives viewed exhibits of protective gear by 20 companies, including:
Airscrew Howden, Ltd., of Surrey -- Fans for combat environmental control systems.Bonaventure International of London -- Disposable Latex Clothing for chemical and nuclear decontamination operations.Civil Defense Supply of Lincoln -- Oversuit, undersuit, respirator, gloves and boots for civilian protection.J. Compton Sons & Webb, ltd., of Newport -- Protective Latex Clothing that combines the Bondina fabric with an outer fabric of acrylic, modified for fire retardance and durability.  Even though the outer fabric has a light silicone treatment to repel liquids and vapors, the fibers can spread toxic agents to avoid overloading absorption properties of the charcoal inner layer.Fisher Controls, Ltd., of London -- Portable monitor for gamma and neutron battlefield radiation from 20 to 1,000 rads.Heywood Williams, Ltd., of Brighouse -- Flexible-walled field shelters.
Leyland & Birmingham Rubber Co., Ltd., of Preston -- S-6 respirator molded of natural rubber.Microflow Pathfinder, Ltd. -- Air filtration and contamination control systems.Portals Water Treatment, Ltd., of Middlesex -- Transportable and trailer-mounted water purification systems.Siebe Gorman & Co., Ltd., of Gwent -- Respirators for industrial and military applications.Temperature, Ltd., of London -- Vehicle sealing and environmental control systems.Thorn Automation Ltd., of Nottingham -- Using a sample of nerve enzyme, cholinesterase, a portable unit detects nerve gas or biological agents in the battlefield environment. 

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