LOW-COST INDICATOR AND DOSIMETER FOR WARFARE GASES

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO CONDUCT PRELIMINARY TESTS ON A NOVEL CHEMISTRY WHICH COULD RESULT IN THE PRODUCTION OF A LOW COST WAFER WHICH CHANGES COLOR UPON EXPOSURE TO WARFARE GASES (WG). SIMILAR WAFERS WHICH WE DEVELOPED FOR OTHER GASES ARE ABOUT 2" X 1" X 1/16" AND WEIGH ABOUT 2.3 GM. THESE CHROMOSENSE (TM) WAFERS CAN DETECT HYDROGEN SULFIDE, ETC. IN 10-30 SEC. AT CONCENTRATIONS OF THE ORDER OF 10-50 PPB; THE RANGE OF PERFORMANCE PARAMETER IS SIMILAR TO THAT NEEDED FOR WG. IN PHASE I COAL GAS, INC. WILL INVESTIGATE TWO POSSIBLE CHEMISTRIES FOR THE DETECTION AND DETERMINATION OF WG, WILL OPTIMIZE THE DRY-CHEMISTRY OF THE FORMULATION USING SIMULANTS FOR THE ACTUAL GASES, WILL DERIVE SELECTIVITY DATA USING INTERFERENCES SUCH AS METHANOL, PENTACHLOROETHYLENE, FREONS AND AMMONIA. IN ADDITION, THE EFFECT OF THE TEMPERATURE, GAS CONCENTRATION, EXPOSURE TIME AND RELATIVELY HUMIDITY WILL BE ESTABLISHED AS WELL AS THE SHELF LIFE, USING ACCELERATED AGING. SHOULD THE RESULTS BE SATISFACTORY, TESTS WILL BE SCHEDULED WITH THE REAL GASES TOGETHER WITH A DOD LABORATORY. COAL GAS, INC. HAS PROVEN THAT THE PRINCIPLES OF THE PROPOSED CHEMISTRY WORK WITH ORGANIC PHOSPHATES AND ORGANIC CHLORIDES WITH AN ACTIVATED CHLORINE; HOWEVER, NO DATA WERE DERIVED ON CONVENTIONAL SIMULANTS FOR NERVE GASES.