The HSE decided that old untested gas masks should not be handled or worn as teaching aids in schools because visually distinguishing between hazardous and safe filters is difficult or impossible. The results showed that the filters of 29 gas masks contained asbestos, and six filters included blue asbestos, considered the most hazardous for health. In 2014 the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated 34 old British and German gas masks. Possible risks were not properly addressed until the 2000s. No research-based information is evidently available on the asbestos exposure of contemporary gas mask wearers or current gas mask owners and wearers. Photo: Guarding against the danger of gas.

Breathe calmly!” Breathing through a gas mask was hard, which is why it was recommended that people get gradually used to it through various drills. Those exposed to asbestos at work have suffered from, for example, lung cancer, to a far greater degree than other members of the population. However, the focus has been on the workers of factories producing gas masks during the Second World War whose health and causes of death were analysed in the 1970s and 1980s in Britain and Canada, for instance. The connection between the filter cartridges of old gas masks and asbestos has long been known around the world. In this blog post, we explain how we investigated the matter and what we eventually found out. In spring 2020 we decided to find out whether these suspicions were true. However, we had to scrap these plans at the last minute when we discovered that the filters of old gas masks may contain asbestos. In 2015 we made plans to place one of the civilian gas masks on display in the University Museum’s new main exhibition, The Power of Thought. The collections also include an equine gas mask dating back to the 1930s or 1940s which is of an unknown origin. The University Museum has received the masks from hospitals and University of Helsinki departments. The collections of the Helsinki University Museum include eight gas masks, of which seven are from the 1930s and intended for the civilian population. The gas mask originally belonged to the University of Helsinki Department of Pharmacology. When empty, the bag can be rolled up to save space so that it is not in the way.A civil defence gas mask from the late 1930s included in the collections of the Helsinki University Museum. The NBC Protective Mask Bag can of course also be used to carry other items such as ammunition or food, if the situation permits. The optionally available ( NBC leg bag kit ) allows the NBC protective mask bag to be worn on the leg, especially recommended for persons operating in the vehicle. Below the MOLLE holder there is the two-part Velcro fastener with which the protective mask pocket can be attached to the belt or to the paddock supplied on duty. The NBC bag is attached using two MOLLE Clips 7.5 (optional), so that the protective bag can be attached easily and securely to all MOLLE and PAL equipment such as protective vests and plate carriers. The bag can thus be securely fastened and closed using the Fastex buckle. The protective mask bag consists of two-ply Cordura, which is closed with a plastic reinforced roll closure. According to our concept, the rest of the NBC equipment is carried in the rucksack, as we assume that decontamination and supply only takes place in the covered area. NBC protective mask, poncho, radiation protection glasses and gloves.įor small parts such as gloves and glasses, there are two inserts inside the NBC protective mask pocket. The available space is limited to the essential equipment that is needed in case of an ABC threat, fire or fogging tanks: This protective mask bag is not intended as a replacement for the official bag, but as an extension for troops who want their masks always at hand, ready to hand and space-saving.

German gas mask case