Advances in materials for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) protective clothing

Chemical, biological and nuclear (CBN) threats are still a major challenge faced by civilized nations. As these threats have become unconventional these days, solutions to tackle them should also be unconventional in nature. In other words, it is not possible for a single discipline to come up with a solution to counter CBN threat agents. In the CBN defense program, there are three main aspects, which include: 1) sensing the threat agents; 2) protection from the threat agents; and 3) preserving after attacks. Fibrous materials can be involved in all three aspects of CBN counter-measures. This chapter briefly discusses the characteristics of the CBN threat agents and their counter-measure strategies involving textile materials. New developments such as dry decontamination wipes and nanotechnology-based protective materials are highlighted in this chapter.