NCJ Number
192252
Date Published
2001
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This executive summary presents the swatch test results of commercial protective boots to resist chemical warfare agents.
Abstract
As part of the Domestic Preparedness Program, researchers tested nine commercially available boot designs to assess their capability to protect people in a chemical warfare (CW) agent environment. Swatches of material from each boot design were tested for the ability to resist permeation from Sarin (GB) and mustard (HD). The data allowed the researcher to estimate the time it would take to permeate the boot with enough agent to produce physiological effects in a person wearing the boot. For each of the boots, twelve swatches were taken from two pairs of boots. The swatches were then placed in a test fixture and either GB or HD was applied to the top surface of each swatch. The permeation for each of the boots was compared to other boot designs. The breakthrough times for each of the boots were presented in a table. Breakthrough times ranged from 268 minutes (HD permeation to Lacross Chemtrex 24228) to >1440 minutes (GB permeation to Tingley Hazproof 82330, LaCrosse Commander 89612, LaCrosse Monarch 87568, Bata Polymax 84076, Bata Hazmax 87012, Servus Hazmat HZT 75107, and LaCrosse Chemtrex 24228). It also took >1440 minutes for HD to permeate Tingley Hazproof 82330. The test showed that the chemical protective boot designs might protect people from liquid CW agents. Breakthrough times should not be interpreted as the time that a boot could be worn, but should only be used to compare boot materials.