Training Mask

After recruit instruction in use of the gas mask, training followed three well-defined phases specialist training of unit gas officers and NCO s basic training of units under direction of their gas officers and NCO s and, finally, application of basic unit training in field problems involving gas situations. 

Panehsts are trained to evaluate malodor intensity and the degree of modification. It is important that the paneflst be able to smell through any extraneous odor(s), such as the fragrance of the product, to evaluate the efficacy of products making elimination or neutralization claims, as opposed to the phenomenon of masking. 

Laboratory work with hydrogen cyanide should be carried out only in a well-ventilated fume hood. Special safety equipment such as air masks, face masks, plastic aprons, and mbber gloves should be used. A chemical proof suit should be available for emergency. Where hydrogen cyanide is handled inside a building, suitable ventilation must be provided. The people involved should be thoroughly trained in first aid. 

Note For military personnel engaged in training scenarios the M9, M17 or M40 series masks are acceptable. Filter elements and canisters should be changed after each use with DS2. 

If threatened by radiological contaminants after a terrorist attack, an individual can use a folded handkerchief, dust mask, gas mask, or any available material to limit the ingestion or inhalation of contaminants. Potentially contaminated puncture wounds can be washed to limit internal doses, although medical treatment by a trained professional is advised, as described in Chapter 7. A more detailed discussion on reducing exposure to internal radiation is presented in Chapter 4. 

The men who worked together almost night and day to devise efficient gas masks or means of submarine detection or methods of sound ranging were not workmen under the orders of a superior, but free associations of scientists with training in common or related fields of research and under the inspiration of a common patriotism. Precisely this is what is needed to achieve the victories of peace. Effective cooperation cannot be imposed from above by administrative authority but can only come by free democratic action of investigators themselves. (9). 

We found diat 1.5 mcg/kg of LSD significantly impaired rifle accuracy. Although on the placebo day the men could easily put on a gas mask rapidly and correctly, they did poorly after LSD. Rifle assembly, a task well learned in basic and advanced training, suddenly became very difficult. Two of the men could not keep from laughing as they were asked to perform one seemingly meaningless task after another. 

In Japan, a number of years ago, a terrorist attack with sarin killed a dozen individuals confined to a subway car out of roughly a thousand people in the nearby vicinity. Sarin has little effect on the skin, due to rapid evaporation. It is true that the Iraqis killed many Kurds with nerve gas, but the victims were unprepared, had no training, no detection devices, no masks or other protection, no antidote and no practical way to avoid the gas. None of these vulnerabilities would be the case in a conflict with American troops. 

One of the junior officers asks whether the amount of material is enough to cover 100 hectares, roughly half of a square mile. He welcomes a firm reassurance. The terrorists could protect themselves if they could mask in a few seconds, but at this early hour, with limited equipment and training, this is a far-fetched possibility. 

Informational masking, where the masked threshold of a complex target masked by a complex masker may decrease after training by more than 40 dB [Leek and Watson, 1984],... 

Had there been a chemical warfare establishment in 1915 when the first gas attacks were made we would have been fully prepared with gases and protective masks and the army would have been trained in their use. This would have saved thousands of gas cases. The war might have easily have been shortened by six months or a year, and untold misery... might have been saved.1... 

CWC-related chemicals must be handled with great care. Persons handling toxic chemicals must be specially trained for the work. When toxic samples are handled, decontamination solution, protective masks, and autoinjectors of nerve agent antidotes must always be available, and no one must ever work alone. Individual protective gear such as laboratory coats, chemically resistant protective gloves, and safety goggles are essential during sample preparation. Toxic samples must always be prepared in a fume cupboard. 

FIGURE 2.3. US Army captain wearing a gas mask in training, 1917. 

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