Operational Dead Air Space and Cross-Contamination Testing of the ChemicallyProtected Deployable Medical Systems (CP DEPMEDS)

摘要

The U.S. Army Natick Research, Development and Engineering Center (NRDEC)requested the U.S. Army Edgewood Research, Development and Engineering Center to operationally test the Chemically Protected Deployable Medical Systems (CP DEPMEDS) for dead air spaces and cross contamination. The CD DEPMEDS are composed of various-sized shelters connected by viaducts and are over pressurized to 0.5 in. WG to provide wounded soldiers a collectively-protected environment for treatment under chemical warfare conditions. The concern is that dead air spaces would serve as potential accumulation locations for chemical agent vapors transmitted into the CP DEPMEDS, threatening the collective protection provided. Using smoke to observe the air flow patterns throughout the shelters and viaducts, no dead air spaces were located. The concern about cross contamination within the CP DEPMEDS is that if contamination were to occur within the Patient Processing Unit (PPU), contamination may spread to other shelter units. Release of a chemical agent vapor simulant (sulfur hexafluoride) for a 10 min period in the PPU produced no significant change in sulfur hexafluoride concentration above background in several other areas of the CP DEPMEDS after monitoring these areas for 1 hr.