Escape Respirator for First Responders

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dubovik R ; Galloway A ; Gebhard S ; Srinivas G
• Description:
  TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) and Mine Safety Appliances Company (MSA) are collaborating to develop a respirator filter canister for MSA's Response Escape Hood to protect the workforce in general, and first responders in particular, from Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) hazards and carbon monoxide (CO). MSA's escape hood (and all other escape hoods made by other manufacturers) currently use a filter cartridge filled with treated carbon that is effective against CBRN agents and other toxic substances, but this treated carbon does nothing to remove CO, which does not adsorb on activated carbon. The ability to remove CO is necessary for NIOSH certification. MSA has tested Hopcalite (a Cu-Mn oxide CO oxidation catalyst) but found that it is rapidly deactivated by moisture in the air, and consequently requires an upstream desiccant bed, which adds weight to the filter canister. Therefore, the goal of the project is for TDA is to develop an inexpensive, durable and active catalyst that destroys CO by oxidation to CO2 that is insensitive to moisture, and to demonstrate its use in an MSA Response Escape Hood. TDA has developed a catalyst that is active for CO oxidation at temperatures down to 0 degrees C that is insensitive to moisture. TDA's low temperature CO oxidation catalyst contains gold nanocrystallites supported on iron oxide. Testing in Phase II by MSA demonstrated that TDA's catalyst is ideal for use in their Response Escape Hood. MSA found that when challenged according to the NIOSH certification standard for CO removal (64 liter/min of air at 0 degrees C, 3600 ppm CO, for 30 min), TDA's catalyst far exceeded the NIOSH requirements; the CO concentration downstream of TDA's catalyst never exceeded 1 ppm (the NIOSH requirement is to never have a spike above 500 ppm). TDA has successfully optimized the catalyst formulation, scaled up the catalyst synthesis to multi-kilogram quantities and demonstrated that the scaled up synthesis produces a catalyst that meets or exceeds the requirements for use in the CBRN filter canister. The current cost per filter for the catalyst is significantly less than the goal set by MSA at the beginning of the Phase II project of $25 per filter. TDA, MSA and Pressure Chemical Co.(our toll catalyst manufacturer) are planning to manufacture the catalyst during Phase III. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Carbon Monoxide Emergency Responders Mining Occupational Health Respiratory Protective Devices Safety
• Keywords:
  Carbon Monoxide Equipment Design Filter Materials Filters First Responders Mine Escapes Respirators
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-26
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056323
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2019-101131
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R44-OH-008206, 2013 Dec; :1-26
• Contact Point Address:
  TDA Research, Inc., 12345 W. 52nd Avenue, Wheat Ridge, CO, 80033
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Performing Organization:
  TDA Research, Inc., Wheat Ridge, Colorado
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20040701
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20130731
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ff34cfa6e907f9481dce21dcab9ae5ba968ebd5359ab3f359a67fe83fb4f27ef1aa6edd83cc38ed2e506b35b2cf201bfe391b30443f8a02f93a028d8765c8144
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218889/cdc_218889_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.73 MB ]