New developments with nonwoven decontamination wipes

The overarching goal of this project is to develop chemical protective and cost effective barrier textile systems for protection against toxic chemical ingress. Bearing in mind the current threat of chemical warfare agents, individual protection is important for warfighters, first responders as well as the civilian population. The currently fielded decontamination system (M291 Kit) consists of free flowing loose powder in a nonwoven matrix which can be applied to skin upon exposure to chemicals. This particulate decontamination system can be irritating to the skin and eyes¹. Furthermore, the importance of developing new lightweight protective materials that reduce the physiological burden and provides improved protection agiants chemical hazards is clearly conveyed in recent reports by the US Department of Defese to the US Congress. One of the most important and fundamental mechamisms of a chemical protective fabric for military applications is adsorption of hazardous vapors within the fabric structure 2. This paper reports the manufacturing process and performance evaluation of a cost effective nonwoven composite fabric which is essentially composed of three layers: a next to skin inner layer (skin friendly base substrate), a middle adsorbent layer (chemical protective substrate) and a reliable outer layer (skin friendly base substrate). This study focuses on adsorption performance of new lightweight, non-particulate and natural fiber based fabric substrate, which offer a high potential to be used as an inner liner in a chemical protective suite and a portable decontamination wipe. This project is unique in the area of barrier systems and addresses the requirements of the US Department of Defense for seeking the necessary chemical protection while minimizing discomfort through highly efficient materials and innovative textile designs³.