BUYING a gas mask is unlikely to save your life鈥攊n fact it could kill
you. The lack of an early-warning system for any chemical or biological attack
renders gas masks almost redundant, while insufficient training in their use can
lead to fatal accidents.
There鈥檚 been frenzied buying of gas masks since the attacks on the US. 鈥淲e鈥檝e
sold literally thousands to shops in the UK since yesterday morning and it鈥檚
continuing today,鈥� Colin Griffith of Thatchreed, an army surplus wholesaler in
Bedfordshire, told 91av early last week. 鈥淲e鈥檙e totally
驳辞产蝉尘补肠办别诲.鈥�
But the most immediate danger may be the masks themselves. More than a dozen
Israelis died during the Gulf War because of incorrect use of their gas masks,
despite an extensive public education programme.
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鈥淲hen they鈥檙e not part of a system of training, detection, alarm and
professional supervision, I don鈥檛 see how gas masks are useful, and I can see
many ways in which they are harmful,鈥� says Shmuel Reis of the Technion, the
Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, who studied issues relating to their
use during the Gulf War.
Half of those who died suffocated because they failed to remove a protective
plastic seal fitted to their gas mask鈥檚 canister. 鈥淭hey thought they were dying
of nerve gas,鈥� says Jack Sawicki, an expert in protective clothing at Geomet
Technologies in Germantown, Maryland, 鈥渂ut they just hadn鈥檛 taken the plug
辞耻迟.鈥�
The seals are fitted to masks to preserve the effectiveness of the 鈥渁ctivated
carbon鈥� filters that absorb chemicals from the air. 鈥淭hese filters have a useful
lifetime that can be measured in a matter of hours,鈥� warns Brian Davey, head of
health and safety at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
(OPCW) in The Hague.
This makes buying surplus gas masks鈥攁s many people are
doing鈥攕omething of a lottery. 鈥淚f a canister is not sealed, there鈥檚 no way
of knowing how long it has left,鈥� says Davey. Before OPCW staff go on
inspections, their gas masks are checked and fitted with new canisters, he
says.
Gas masks have a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter as well as a
carbon one. These filters provide some protection against a biological attack,
but they鈥檙e useless if the seal of the mask isn鈥檛 good. The OPCW checks its
masks to ensure particles can鈥檛 penetrate, Davey says. 鈥淲e also ensure
everybody鈥檚 freshly shaven. Beards are a real problem.鈥�
A day鈥檚 stubble is worst, he says. 鈥淟onger hair is better, but the seal is
still compromised.鈥� And, of course, gas masks offer no protection against the
many chemical weapons that can penetrate or injure skin.
Even well-trained people with good gas masks are unlikely to benefit if a
chemical or biological attack were to happen, says Davey. 鈥淎n attack is unlikely
to materialise as a plane going over and a huge cloud coming out of it. It鈥檒l
arise as sick people,鈥� he says.
鈥淭he problem is that people don鈥檛 have an early-warning system. You鈥檇 have to
wear a mask all the time.鈥�