Technology Trends and Future Opportunities in Development of NBC Protective Clothing

Abstract

This article reviews a detailed and timely evolution of Nuclear Biological Chemical (NBC) protective clothing. The increased threat of NBC weapons underlines the need for NBC protective clothing for first responders, service personnel as well as civilians. The material selection criteria for protective clothing have been changed considerably with the development of advance technical fibers to sustain the threat of CWA and fulfill precisely need for the NBC suits. Because of advancement, in the use and delivery of Chemical Warfare Agent (CWA), the evolution of the NBC suit is presented. The chemical protection of NBC protective clothing needs to be precisely evaluated and thereby related standard test methods are also duly accommodated. This review documented the journey of the NBC suit right from charcoal based to activated carbon spheres (ACS), and recent developments on the materials aspects of various protective clothing.