Gas Mask
Anselme Payen (1795-1871) and Garrett Augustus Morgan are credited with inventing the modern gas mask. Payen, a French chemist, was the son of an industrialist who established chemical factories. After his father's death, Payen took over the family business and turned his attention to a factory that refined sugar from sugar beets. In 1822 Payen used animal charcoal to remove large-molecular impurities. Eventually his use of charcoal to absorb impurities became an important feature of the gas masks used in World War I.
Morgan, an African American, was born in Paris, Tennessee in 1875. After working as a general handyman in Cincinnati, Ohio, he left for Cleveland in 1895. Morgan eventually opened a shop that sold and repaired sewing machines. In 1912 he came out with his most important invention, the Safety Hood or "Breathing Device," as he called it. His Breathing Device was a hood placed over the head of the user. Two tubes were connected to the hood: one that provided fresh air; the other to disengage exhaled air. The fresh-air tube was lined with an absorbent material that could be moistened with water to keep out smoke and dust particles.
Although Morgan demonstrated his gas mask at several exhibits and expositions, he was not very successful in marketing his device until one crucial incident proved it's value. In 1916 a violent explosion at the Cleveland Waterworks had trapped workers inside a tunnel under Lake Erie. Heavy smoke and poisonous gases prevented any rescue attempts until Morgan arrived with several of his gas masks. He and three volunteers used the masks to save the lives of more than 20 men by carrying them out of the tunnel. Morgan's invention generated much interest following the rescue, but many customers cancelled their orders after discovering that he was a black man, and in the segregated South, Morgan had to employ a white man to demonstrate his invention to potential buyers.
Meanwhile, during World War I the German army used poison gas for the first time in battle. The English, who had no access to Morgan's invention, used chemically treated cotton pads tied over their mouths and noses. Soon, advanced gas masks were devised based on Morgan's invention. These devices, which consisted of the mask itself and a large tube that connected the mask to a canister that hung in front of the soldier's body, were very cumbersome. Inside the canister was charcoal, which filtered the poison gases. Gas masks devised for World War II were lighter, better fitting, and allowed for better vision. The filter was redesigned to wear over the shoulder for easier carrying.
In the 1960s, the United States military developed the M-17 mask that proved to be a breakthrough in protecting soldiers from biological, chemical, and radiological agents. The M-17 had no hose or external canister; air is filtered through pads of flexible material enclosed in cavities molded into the facepiece of the mask. The successor to the M-17 is the M-45, developed in the late 1990s by a California firm for the U.S. Army. The M-45 used plastic parts to replace heavier metal parts in earlier models, and used an inner lining of a silicone-based compound to make the mask more comfortable than previous ones. Other advances in gas mask technology in the late 1990s included built-in microphones and drinking tubes, and interchangeable tinted lenses.
Most gas masks today are used by police and fire fighters or workers in chemical plants. However, the military and civilian need for gas masks became more marked in the late 1990s, with the rise of chemical weapons. Gas masks became a commonplace of Israeli life in the late 1990s, when fear of IraqÕs chemical weapons arsenal was intense. First the military, then all citizens, were issued gas masks, and newborn babies were equipped with special gas-filtering cradle covers. IsraelÕs only gas mask manufacturer had difficulty producing enough masks to cover non-citizens and visitors as well. The difficulty of protecting an entire population from chemical attack became apparent, as special masks had to be produced for heavily bearded men, and groups such as illegal aliens protested their lack of access to masks.
This is the complete article, containing 687 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
