News

Shop ensures gas masks get seal of approval

  • Published
  • By Wayne Crenshaw
  • 78 ABW/PA
One of the things required for anyone who deploys from Robins is to make sure they have a gas mask that fits properly and that they know how to use it.

That testing and training is done at the Gas Mask Shop. Although putting on a gas mask might seem like a simple enough task, a lot of people make mistakes when they come in for the testing, said Joseph Brothers, shop supervisor.

But the testing, called Quantitative Mask Fitness Testing and Training, isn't just to test the person but also to test the mask itself. The mask is donned, and then a tube connects it to a machine that measures the air outside and inside the mask. The air inside is supposed to be 2,000 times cleaner than the air outside.

The test also looks at whether the mask is making a good seal around the face. Mr. Brothers said the testing helps give the user confidence the mask will work if it is ever needed in a real emergency. "If you are going through a life or death situation such as nerve gas or some kind of chemical agent, you want to make sure that mask is fitting properly," he said.

The shop has had a significant change in the frequency of testing that is reducing the workload. It used to be that all military personnel issued a gas mask had to come for testing every 20 to 40 months.

Now the user will not have to come in after initial testing unless certain changes occur. Those include losing or gaining 10 percent of body weight, extensive dental work, facial surgery, scarring or disfigurement. All of those can impact whether the mask seals properly on the face.

2nd Lt. Michael Palmer, who is working a rotation in the shop, went through the testing Wednesday, which is the designated day for walk-in testing.

The testing includes having the user move his head up and down and side to side to mimic normal movements. It's intended to make sure the seal remains tight.

A gas mask can make breathing a little more difficult.

"It's not the most comfortable thing in the world," Lieutenant Palmer said, describing what it's like to wear a gas mask.

The shop also tests industrial masks used at Robins. Mr. Brothers said there are over 300 processes on base that require some kind of respiratory mask. Approximately 2,900 people working on base use an industrial mask, Mr. Brothers said, and every one of them has to come in for annual training to learn the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations for mask use.

"Even though you've been out here 20 years you still have to come through respirator training," Mr. Brothers said.