Chemicals dispersed as an aerosol are a serious threat for our health and safety. In the past, chemical weapons were used in war situations. Also, today chemical warfare agents (CWAs) are still used, for example in Syria. These CWAs are often dispersed as an aerosol. These highly toxic aerosols are difficult to investigate, because of safety aspects. Therefore, at TNO we designed a new setup where we can safely generate toxic aerosols and perform various tests afterwards.
"We designed a new setup where we can safety generate toxic aerosols and perform various tests."
A possible test is detector evaluation to see whether a detector has enough sensitivity and selectivity to give an alarm when it measures a toxic aerosol. It is essential for military and civilians to warn as soon as possible when an attack occurs, in order to find a hiding place. Another application is the evaluation of protective clothing. More applications are skin penetration tests and environmental tests. The setup is built to contribute to a better preparation and protection in case of a chemical attack or accident. A high-resolution animation of the setup can be found below. More information can be found at tno.nl/cbrn.