Escape Respirators for First Responders

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): First responders are the men and women who are first on the scene of a natural or man-made disaster. They are also the last to leave the scene. First responders are policemen, firemen, and emergency medical technicians. There are 11 million state and local first responders in 87,000 jurisdictions throughout the United States. Escape hoods that are effective against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) agents need to be developed and approved by the NIOSH so that first responders may use them effectively. TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) and its commercial partner are jointly proposing to develop a CBRN escape hood that will meet the recently announced standards by the NIOSH. In addition to CBRN protection, the es cape hood will be designed to be effective against carbon monoxide. In the Phase I project, TDA will design, fabricate and test catalytic materials that are effective in removing CO at or below room temperatures. TDA and its commercial partner will also de sign canisters that will house the sorbent/catalyst at the end of the project.