Gas masksBetter gas mask filters

Published 11 December 2017

In research that could lead to better gas mask filters, scientists have been putting the X-ray spotlight on composite materials in respirators used by the military, police, and first responders, and the results have been encouraging. What they are learning not only provides reassuring news about the effectiveness of current filters in protecting people from lethal compounds such as VX and sarin, but they also provide fundamental information that could lead to more advanced gas masks as well as protective gear for civilian applications.

In research that could lead to better gas mask filters, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have been putting the X-ray spotlight on composite materials in respirators used by the military, police, and first responders, and the results have been encouraging. What they are learning not only provides reassuring news about the effectiveness of current filters in protecting people from lethal compounds such as VX and sarin, but they also provide fundamental information that could lead to more advanced gas masks as well as protective gear for civilian applications.

The project at Berkeley Lab is led by Hendrik Bluhm, a senior staff scientist with joint appointments in the Chemical Sciences Division and the Advanced Light Source (ALS). On his team are two postdoctoral researchers in the Chemical Sciences Division, Lena Trotochaud and Ashley Head. LBL notes that the Berkeley Lab team is part of a larger collaboration that includes researchers at the University of Maryland at College Park, Johns Hopkins University, and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.

The researchers pointed out that studying how metal oxides interact with small organophosphates could be relevant beyond the gas masks used by the military and emergency responders. The work they are doing could have applications in sensing technologies. In addition, less potent forms of organophosphates are widely used as pesticides and herbicides, so the findings could help the agricultural industry and environmental scientists understand what eventually happens to these substances after they are released into the environment.

“This is a project where we are working to help save lives,” said Trotochaud. “That is very fulfilling.”

For Head, the project provided a particularly relevant topic of conversation at family gatherings.

“My sister-in-law is in the Air Force,” said Head. “I was telling her what I do, and she said, ‘When I’m deployed, I get a gas mask. Does it work?’ She tells her colleagues about what I’m working on. So much of what we do in basic science is far removed from an application. While our work is still fundamental, I can now tell my family what I’m doing, and they’ll actually understand.”

Do the masks work?