Testing for chemical agents within the CBRN sector (CBRN standing for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear) is critical in emergency situations such as terrorist attacks, industrial chemical accidents or military attacks using chemical warfare agents.
How do you give early detection for chemical agents?
Fortunately, when going into the unknown or responding to emergency situations, there are chemical response testing kits available to military and first responders around the world. These CBRN products offer detection that a chemical agent is present.
Chemical testing kits – Chemical Detection Papers
Our easy to deploy chemical detection paper and tape products, M8 and M9, can identify the presence of nerve agents in the air, on surfaces and when in contact with liquids, using a simple color-changing method.
The difference between M8 and M9 papers are as follows:
M8 chemical detection paper is used by placing a tear-out sheet on a non-porous surface. If liquid nerve or blister agents are present, they react with the chemicals within the M8 sheets and produce colored dots. These indicate the presence of G-type nerve agents such as Sarin, H-type blister agents such as mustard gas and V-type nerve agents such as VX. Our ‘3 Way’ M8 product variation has adhesive backing and can be placed on clothing etc.
The M9 chemical detection paper comes in the form of a useful adhesive-backed tape as it is most often used for protective clothing and detects liquid and aerosol chemical agents. The M9 paper is designed to detect nerve and mustard agents but does not differentiate as to which are present.
Testing for chemicals in the air/liquids
The M256A1 Chemical Agent Detector Kit can detect and identify field concentrations of Nerve, Blister (including Mustard and Lewisite), and Blood agents in vapor form in about 15-20 minutes. Used after a chemical attack, the M256A1 Kit can determine the type of agent present or can confirm the absence of a hazardous concentration of an agent — making it easier to determine if it’s safe to unmask or reduce the protective posture level.
Water testing kits
Many contaminating substances in water tend to be odorless or colorless, which can make detecting them difficult without the correct equipment. Our M272 Chemical Agent Water Testing Kit utilizes color-changing reactions to indicate the presence of Lewisite, nerve agents, cyanide and mustard agents which may be present in water and can also highlight the degree to which it is contaminated.
Chemical decontamination products
Luxfer Magtech’s chemical decontamination kits serve to help remove Liquid chemical agents on equipment. The M295 Decontamination Kit provides decontamination of individual equipment through physical removal and absorption of liquid chemical agents with no long-term harmful side effects to the user.
At Luxfer Magtech, we provide a variety of chemical testing and decontamination products for military and first responder CBRN emergency preparedness.
We also carry various chemical detection training kits for personnel training purposes. Please contact us if you’d like to find out more about our products.