Air invisible killer Asia-Pacific metastatic nuclear protection

Thailand's "Asian Military Review" 2014 4-5th issue published an article by Andy Oppenheimer: Something In The Air: CBRN Protection in the Asia-Pacific. The article introduced the threats of chemical and chemical nuclear release facing the Asia-Pacific region and the latest developments of personal protective equipment and chemical warfare agent detection technologies around the world. The article is compiled as follows:

The Asia-Pacific region’s original Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN, “CBRN”) threat came from North Korea, not only from its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, but also from its chemistry. The arsenal, it is believed that North Korea’s chemical arsenal can match Syria.

In addition to North Korea, Pakistan and India as nuclear countries are facing nuclear and radiological attacks from non-state actors. For example, Pakistan has been repeatedly subjected to suicide bombings by Islamic rebel groups; India is facing a serious threat from Pakistan’s Islamist paramilitary organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba. The organization organized a terrorist attack on Mumbai in 2008 using grenades and AK-47 assault rifles. As India’s economy grows, larger industrial parks and facilities are being built and insurgents are likely to start worryingly important infrastructures such as railway stations, airports, and chemical and biotech industries. Attack on product.

Japan

However, the most serious metastatic nuclear accident in modern times was not caused by war or terrorism but by natural disasters. On March 11, 2011, earthquakes and tsunamis occurred in the eastern part of the northeastern Honshu Island of Japan. The earthquake and tsunami caused the reactor core of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on the east coast of Honshu Island to melt and explode. As a result, some governments in the Asia-Pacific region are now switching to multi-functional biochemical nuclear protection products to deal with the threats caused by deliberate attacks and accidents. Accidents that produce large doses of radioactive contaminants, for example, the Fukushima incident discussed above have led to a shortage of radiation protection products. Radiation risks also come from the theft or random disposal of radioactive materials in many countries. In many countries, civilian radioactive materials are often dumped and discarded at random. On December 2, 2013, in Tepojaco near Mexico City, thieves hijacked a truck loaded with Cobalt-60 particles that were demolished from obsolete medical radiation therapy equipment and were hijacked. The truck is preparing to transport these dangerous radioactive materials to the nuclear waste disposal site. Cobalt-60 particles were recovered after two days. The shield was partially removed and the thieves were detained and hospitalized. Two of them were suspected of radiation damage.

In the earthquake and tsunami disaster, the reactor cores of three reactors in the six nuclear reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were melted down. Firefighters undertook to protect themselves from lethal gamma radiation. The most important disaster reduction action is to deal with reactors that have melted down the core of these three reactors. There was no plan for the clean-up work and radioactive water had leaked into the Pacific Ocean. In late November 2013, in an attempt to restore safety, power plant workers successfully removed the first nuclear fuel rod from a power plant cooling pool. During this four-day high-risk operation, workers have been facing high Horizontal radiation.

Strengthen protection

Gamma-ray radiation may cause Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) - the destruction of the body's bone marrow. This will lead to anaemia, infection, bleeding of internal organs, and the result will often lead to death. Alpha rays from nuclear explosions and accidents may have a long-term impact on human health, such as cancer, and most notably leukemia. The disease is difficult to detect, and it is difficult to prove the causal relationship between the two. Because it is just like cancer, it is a global disease. Because the appearance of patients' clinical symptoms tends to be delayed and it is difficult to measure the radiation dose received by individuals, emergency rescue workers, nuclear power plant workers, and people who may be affected by nuclear accidents require special protection. To ensure that the people in the accident are treated, measuring the amount of radiation is crucial because many civilians are concerned about radiation.

United States

Currently, Geiger counters and electron dosimeters used to measure ionizing radiation are only used to determine which individuals were contaminated with radioactive material during a nuclear disaster, rather than determining the exact radiation dose each person received. At present, an instrument capable of detecting the total absorbed dose of a single person has emerged, and this high throughput flux detection system comes from the Biological Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA, a subsidiary of the US Department of Health). Funded six projects to develop high-throughput detection systems for irradiation and the European MultiBiodose Project, which aims to use the technologies currently available in commercial clinical laboratories to achieve 2,000 per system per day. Biological dose test targets for each sample. Biological dosimetry is a method of measuring the dose of ionizing radiation to which an individual is exposed using a biological material. This method is useful when there is no accidental irradiation with physical dose measurement or the reading of a physical dosimeter.

The Radiation Exposure Dosage Index Diagnostic (REDI-Dx) blood test kit, manufactured by DxTerity Diagnostics, Inc., based in California, is the first commercial gene expression for radiation biodosage testing. The radiation exposure dose index diagnosis is very simple to operate, the tester's fingers piercing, blood sampling, the tester can also use the early collection of finger blood, which can reduce the need for skilled nurses or physicians to perform blood tests. It uses a unique sample collection method that allows blood samples to be stored and transported at ambient temperatures, thereby reducing the logistics costs and burdens required to ensure that the blood samples are refrigerated. It can provide radioactive dose estimates in the laboratory within 48 hours, which will ensure that thousands of such tests are completed each week, allowing the radiation dose index diagnosis to support mass-scale emergencies.

reduce risk

Enhanced personal protective equipment (PPE) is emerging, for example, 360-degree gamma (360 Gamma) wearable personal protective equipment produced by StemRad, Israel, which can halve the deadly radiation dose of over 1000 rads. . Radiation doses in excess of 1000 rads are usually fatal. The shield has been shown to block high-energy gamma rays and keep the wearer under a safe radiation dose.

For the protective equipment required during the Fukushima sweep, the Radiation Shield Technologies (RST) of Florida, USA, has provided systemic metaplasia protective clothing. The company has been selected as a supplier of personal protective equipment. The protective suit has received multiple certifications for full protection against gamma radiation and can significantly reduce heat stress by passively dissipating heat to the wearer. These protective suits are made of a breakthrough nanometal material called Demron fabric, Ronald, the inventor of Demron fabric. DeMeo) on television saw the lack of personal protective equipment for the workers at the Japanese factory, so donated 200 sets of protective clothing produced by Radiation Screening Technologies to nuclear power plant workers and rescue teams. The “Dermron” protective clothing weighs only 5 kilograms (10 pounds) and is said to block 50% of gamma radiation and 70% of beta radiation. This is enough to protect people working in polluted areas.

Assisting in escape

The attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001, cannot be classified as CBRN accidents. It is estimated that at least 3,000 people, including many emergency workers, will die of breath in the next few years. Systemic disease, which is caused by the passage of toxic chemicals and smog-contaminated areas during evacuation. If after the attack, the World Trade Center building in New York has already equipped with an escape respirator, many staff may not be killed. The U.S. government now needs to prepare escape evacuators for all personnel working in major government buildings and foreign embassies. For the emergency departments in Singapore and other Asia-Pacific countries, the US-based company Mesa (MSA) produces self-contained 5-minute escape respirator (TransAire 5) and 10-minute escape respirator (TransAire 10) are all good choices. These escape respirators are lightweight, easy to use, and can protect emergency personnel in high concentrations of toxic gases.

However, due to the current cumbersome heavy-duty evacuation apparatus for civilian use, the Technical Support Working Group is responsible for all U.S. government departments and U.S. counter-terrorism technology organizations that have purchased counter-terrorism measures and C&P countermeasures and have signed counter-terrorism technology contracts. The Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), a subsidiary of the US Department of State’s Counterterrorism Coordination Office, took the lead and selected the UK’s Scientific Protection Scotland to develop a compact escape hood and an ultra-thin escape hood. This new escape hood weighs only Half of the traditional gas masks or smoke hoods can be put into coat pockets or handbags and can be worn immediately in an emergency. These escape hoods meet the requirements of users of U.S. government agencies and are in compliance with the European standards for CBRN release. They are suitable for short-term escape operations in contaminated areas. For civilian escape hoods, Messin has produced a safety escape biogenic nuclear respirator. This type of respirator is suitable for all S-CAP smoke escape hoods. It can prevent smoke and gases generated during a fire, especially carbon monoxide. . High-performance filters provide comprehensive protection, while wide-angle lenses provide a good view.

Korea

The US military in South Korea is equipped with the new M50 Joint Service General Purpose Mask (JSGPM), which is the result of more than 15 years of R&D work by the US Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC). . According to Bill Fritch, general manager of the joint service general gas mask project manager, "The new gas masks provided to combatants are more comfortable, visibility, hydration and what you can think of than previous generation gas masks. Improvements have been made in the field.” Compared to previous models, the joint service general gas mask is said to provide a more humane design, including: increased optical clarity, comfort, and ease of use in high pressures and harsh environments. At the same time, it has also reduced the difficulty of providing weapons and military equipment. In January 2014, the Washington government decided to deploy more soldiers and tanks in South Korea. This is an integral part of the U.S. Asia-Pacific military rebalancing. Since then, South Korea has agreed to pay US$ 869 million in 2014 as the military expenditure of 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. expenditure.

Many respiratores are now improved and can be used for both military and civilian purposes. The HMK150 gas mask manufactured by Avon Protection of the United Kingdom is designed for chemical and nuclear protection. It can be modified to be compatible with traditional protective helmets used by police in non-biogenic nuclear environments. A simple change, the wearer can wear a gas mask without removing the helmet. John Penton, director of sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Avon Protection UK, demonstrated new protective masks that will be available to overseas markets after the first three months of 2014 have been approved. He said: "Avon Shield's HMK150 model will be CE certified (approved by the European Commission) and will be sold in Germany and other countries, including the Asia Pacific region. Avon Protection's ST-53 Respirator System is also in Asia Pacific The region and Australasia have been welcomed by more and more specialized military units and law enforcement teams."

Protective masks for disaster response and personal protective equipment packages must be adjusted. The hands-free Visor Light System (Trelschem) manufactured by Ansell of Sweden is designed for dangerous goods handlers who are exposed to sunlight and other light sources in hazardous environments. It built a hands-free light-emitting diode (LED) in the company's Trellchem ​​airtight suits, giving the wearer a panoramic view without blinding reflections, allowing it to operate normally in the smoke produced by chemicals. The system is a light emitting diode panel mounted on the top of the mask inside, thus providing a wider beam, using a standard 9-volt battery powered, can provide users with at least one hour of lighting. Thomas Draskovics, president and general manager of the Ansell Specialty Products Global Business Unit, said: “We firmly believe that adding an integrated lighting solution for protective clothing will help Emergency workers who are risking their lives provide a safer environment."

Testing Sarin nerve agents

Because of the large-scale nerve agent attack against civilians in the Syrian capital Damascus in August 2013, the rapid detection of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) is imminent. Emergency personnel, military personnel, and specialists dispatched to areas of conflict with chemical weapons threats need early detection of trace concentrations of chemical weapons agents. This is particularly important because low-quality “kitchen” sarin nerve agents or other chemical weapons used by militants may not have the same high concentration of chemical warfare agents, or the readings presented have become more dilute due to time. .

The new technology, based on enzymes and lasers, promises success in near-real-time detection and detection of small quantities of chemical weapons preparations, which will ensure early response and evacuation to prevent or reduce casualties. Enzyme-based detection equipment can continuously monitor and detect chemical weapons preparations. These systems are sensitive to pollution levels that do not affect the human body and therefore have a low rate of false alarms. At the same time, the system can also detect trace levels of contamination in long-term exposure. The enzyme used in the assay, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), is primarily directed against sarin nerve agents in animal bodies and does not combine with other non-toxic chemicals, and can withstand extreme temperatures and humidity, making it possible to use it. Become a specific sensor element in defense and security applications.

The Fido C3 detector manufactured by FLIR Systems of the United States uses enzyme polymer technology. At present, several government agencies are installing it as an early warning system for nerve gas attack. When it detects trace or higher levels of nerve agents in the air, the detector will alarm, when there are non-persistent (ie relatively easy to clean) and persistent (difficult to clean) nerve agents, the sensing element The activity will decrease. During normal operation, the sensing polymer changes color periodically, and no color change indicates that the level of chemical reagent is below trace.

The Fido C3 detector is mainly used to protect people in emergency workers, high-profile buildings, public places and military facilities, or to continuously monitor the public transportation system.

Dr. Markus Erbeldinger of FLIR Systems stated: "Before the FLIR system's Fido C3 detector was available, trace levels of life-threatening nerve agents were impossible to detect. The individual portable instrument is the most sensitive in terms of continuous air monitoring, it can detect undetected trace levels of nerve agents to avoid personal injury.It can provide early detection alarms, which enables people to deploy early Counter measures and evacuation. There is an urgent need for this detector in terms of force protection, military operations, emergency response, infrastructure and security in the Asia Pacific region and around the world."

Undoubtedly, the company will produce a faster and lighter detection system for chemical weapons preparations used in the air or in water during terrorist operations or offensive military operations as quickly as possible. However, this depends to a large extent on the availability of funds and the development of the situation. That is whether the attention of the media to the Sarin attacks in 2013 continues to cool, or whether the country’s chemical weapons were put into use in late 2014.

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