Volume 2   Issue 16         

Safety News

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 Friday, March 14,  2003

Killer Chemical Warfare Suits  

Suits to be used by both American and British troops in any war in Iraq as protection against chemical attacks could actually kill the soldiers wearing them, How? By cooking them. The charcoal-lined suits are to protect soldiers from the nerve and blister agents that the United States alleges Iraq still possesses in defiance of the United Nations. 

The problem is that the suits – which military commanders expect soldiers will literally live in while in combat - will be so hot that soldiers’ masks will float on the sweat running down their faces. “We are going to lose people to the heat,” describes one military commander which other experts see as a small victory for Hussein before any war even starts. “Saddam has already scored a small victory over any invasion army by frightening them into wearing equipment that badly damages their ability to fight, Wearing chemical protective clothing while under enemy fire in a hot ambient temperature is a stress of the very highest order. Running, with weapon and full field gear, or carrying very heavy loads such as ammunition, for example, under conditions of high ambient temperature...will inevitably result in a very significant number of heat casualties in a short time,” describes argues retired military scientist Bernard Fine of military think-tank GlobalSecurity.org.
Burnt Child Learns Calm Saves Lives
When his shirt caught fire in a fireworks accident, Brian Kanke of Wynona OK suffered severe burns on his chest and arms because he panicked. Brian has learned from that painful mistake. 

The 11-year-old kept his cool when his younger brother's snowsuit caught fire. Brian quickly knocked 4- year-old Trevor Kanke to the floor and used his hands to beat out the flames on the polyester suit. "I was nervous (but) ... I didn't panic. I knew how to put it out," Brian describes who after  smothering the flames tried to remove the smoldering suit from Trevor but couldn't, so he went to get his father who saved Brian when his clothes caught fire and the child had forgotten the stop, drop and roll instructions he had learned in school. “Brian still has scars on his chest and arms from the fireworks, that was quick thinking on Brian's part when he saw Trevor's snowsuit on fire. We are proud of him,"  says the children’s mother Kelly Kanke.

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