Plastic wrap and duct tape don't work. The only real solution
is our NBC SafeRoom-
Tests which were made on a standard Israeli safe room/Shelter
shown that it is extremely dangerous to stay a sealed room
shelter after 2.5 hours period of time, as breathing only
carbon dioxide will quickly cause negative effects on the
human nervous system.
Back to the main Saferoom Page
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How
do your system work?
Our systems
are overpressure filtration units designed to create a safe
envelop or (Toxic-Free Area) in a room, vehicle, portable shelter
or other space. It does this by pumping filtered air into a
room or designated toxic free area (TFA) faster than the air
can escape, thus creating an overpressure condition. This overpressure
condition allows no other air into the (TFA) except that which
comes in through the filtration unit.
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Do
your system offer protection from nuclear, biological and
chemical war gas releases?
Yes, provided
the system is properly set up and operating in place prior to
the migration of the released toxins into the (TFA), and that
the release occurred up stream (outside) of the protected toxic
free area.
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What if I don't
want to leave my system set up all the time?
If you don't
wish to have a permanent installation that's OK. But it's a
very good idea to take the time required (about 30 minutes)
to set up the air intake hose kit. Keep the filtration unit
itself in storage where you can get at it quickly in case of
attack. This technique of pre-partial setup will allow you complete
the set up of the unit in a about a minute after retrieving
it from storage.
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Am I safe from toxins without
an overpressure system if I just close up the house
don't go outside?
For a short
period of time only, the reason is that relative barometric
pressure is constantly changing due to slight wind and ambient
temperature fluctuations. These fluctuations
cause the outside air pressure to rise and fall relative to
that of the air inside room causing the room or space to intake
unfiltered air, resulting in the migration of toxins into the room
thus compromising the (TFA).Tests with where we made Israeli
standard safe room shown that it is extremely dangerous to stay
in shelled after 2 hours staying due to the fact that the people
or only breathing carbon dioxide with effects the who man nerves
.
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Can't
I use a high quality room
filter or air freshener to keep safe from toxins?
This depends
on how much of the toxins you are willing to breath. You and
it breath the same air, admittedly it process air faster than you
do, but room air filters only process the air that is already
inside the room.
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What
if there is an electrical power
failure?
The blower
unit is completely self-contained and have all of the necessary
electrical controls onboard. The blower unit is available three
operating voltages; 110-volt American, 230-volt European and
12-volt automotive. In the event of a power failure it is the
MAGEN unit drives instantly by the Alternative 12V Battery Backup.
Can't I use a computer UPS (uninterruptible power
supply), as a battery back up in case of
a power failure?
No,
these units offer insufficient output wattage to operate our
blower unit.
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Can't I configure a high quality room air freshener or filter
to be an overpressure system by simply hooking
up to an outside duct or vent?
No, there
are problems with this scenario; I'm not trying to knock the
room air filter industry in any way; in fact most of these units
work quite well for what they were intended, to re-circulate
and freshen air that is already in a room,
this is not a true overpressure (NBC) filtration unit.
To simply
connect a room air freshener to an outside air vent hoping for
an over pressure is not recommended. The reason is that the
added airflow resistance created by the additional ducting would
most likely result in overtaxing the fan or blower resulting
in a useless system. Also room air filters do not meet the proper
government requirements for protection against (NBC) nuclear,
biological and chemical releases. These requirements cover the type of filter media that to
be used in the filtration unit, the construction and testing
of the filter cells as well as the overpressure requirements.
We make the construction specifications for our systems available
for your inspection and comparison on our government specifications
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Would
your system offer protection for HIV and AIDS patients?
Absolutely, Positive Pressure Isolation Rooms maintain a flow
of air out of the room, thus protecting the patient from possible
contaminants and pathogens, which might otherwise enter. The
most common application today is HIV Rooms and rooms for patients
with other types of immunodeficiency. For such patients it is
critically important to prevent the ingress of any pathogens,
including even common fungi and bacteria, which may be harmless
to healthy people.
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Is the HEPA
filter used in your
systems
effective in capturing radioactive
particulates?
Yes, our
systems use government certified nuclear grade HEPA media designed
specifically for the purpose of capturing radionuclides. This
media in accordance with MIL-F-51079 test reference number PATD-7697.
The certification comes from the US Army Edgewood Research,
Development and Engineering Center (ERDEC).
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Can
the HEPA filter in your
systems be a viable
means of capturing anthrax spores?
Yes, since
the anthrax spore is relatively large in size (1-5 microns),
the HEPA filter provides high efficiency in removing the spores
from the air-stream. In addition are HEPA cells are tested at
99.997% efficiency on 0.3-micron particles using dioctylphthalate
(DOP). Uniform size 0.3 micron smoke particles are generated
with a Q-107 penetrometer. This test is conducted in accordance
with US Army instruction Manual 136-300-175A.
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What is anthrax?
Bacillus
anthracis, commonly referred to as anthrax, is a bacterium that
is spread by spores of the bacteria. The spore is typically in the 1 to
5 micron size range. The most common form of Anthrax is cutaneous,
which is caused by the spore coming in contact with an open
wound. Another far more potent form of the disease is inhalation
anthrax, which is caused by breathing the spores.
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Why doesn't
your system use ultraviolet lights?
The use
of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) has been around
for a long time. Microbes are uniquely vulnerable to the effects
of light at wavelengths at or near 2537 Angstroms. The ultraviolet
component of sunlight is the main reason microbes die in the
outdoor air. The die-off rate in the outdoors varies from one
pathogen to another, but can be anywhere from a few seconds
to a few minutes for a 90-99% killing of viruses or contagious
bacteria. Spores, and some environmental bacteria, tend to be
resistant and can survive much longer exposures. The rate of
linear air processing in our system is 30 in/sec. allowing insufficient
dwell time for the (UVGI) to be affective, as it would be with
any system of this type. And since our system is not a re-circulating
system like a room air freshener the likelihood of pathogens
accumulating on the filter surface where the (UVGI) could reach
them and do any good is almost nonexistent.
What are some
of the gases and vapors
that are adsorbed by your filtration units?
Volatility
of Chemical Agents and Water: Approximate amount of agent (mg)
that 1/m3 of air can hold at 25deg/C.
Gases
with toxicity values in red use the ASZM-TEDA carbon
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Chlorine
|
20,000,000
|
6,900,000
|
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Phosgene (CG)
|
10,000,000
|
2,500,000
|
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Hydrogen cyanide
|
1,000,000
|
910,000
|
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Water
|
22,900
|
31,000
|
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Sarin (GB)
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22,000
|
3,800
|
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Soman (GD)
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3,900
|
520
|
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Sulfer mustard (H)
|
920
|
140
|
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Tabun (GA)
|
610
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92
|
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VX
|
10
|
0.9
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What are some
of the most probable gases
that might be used in a terrorist
attack?
- Sarin
is a nerve agent. This means that, once inside your body, it affects the signaling mechanism that nerve
cells use to communicate with one another.
Sarin is a cholinesterase inhibitor -- it gums up the cholinesterase
enzyme, which your nerve cells use to clear themselves of acetylcholine.
When a nerve cell needs to send a message to another nerve cell
(for example, to cause a muscle to contract), it sends the message
with the acetylcholine. Without cholinesterase to clear the acetylcholine,
muscles start to contract uncontrollably, which eventually causes
death by suffocation (since the diaphragm is a muscle).
Sarin is probably the most feared chemical agent because it has actually been used
by terrorists
to kill people. In 1995, the group Aum Shinrikyo released sarin
gas in the Tokyo subway, wounding thousands and killing 12 people.
It is not particularly difficult to manufacture, and about 1
milligram in the lungs will kill a person.
VX
- VX is very similar to Sarin. It works in the same way, but
is more toxic. One milligram on the skin will kill a person.
See this page for more information.
Mustard Gas - Mustard gas has been around since World War I.
It blisters the skin and destroys lung tissue. About 10 milligrams
in the lungs will kill a person.
Lewisite
- Lewisite, like mustard gas, is a blistering agent, and has
also been around
since World War I.
One of the problems with these chemical agents is that there
is no easy way to protect yourself.
On the battlefield, soldiers wear gas masks and complete skin
covering when chemical or biological attack is deemed possible.
If a city were to experience a large-scale VX attack, people would have to be wearing a waterproof
and airtight suit and a gas mask at the time of the attack in order to be protected.
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How
often will the filter cells need replacing?
This is
a good question with no simple answer, the filters work by particulate
entrapment and chemical adsorption, to simply state that they should
be replaced after some given time frame would be grossly inaccurate.
However under normal conditions and use a good rule of thumb
would be to clean the gross screen and change the pre-filter
yearly, and the HEPA and carbon cells every 5 years. The above
change time rule is based on average life cycles of these types
of filters and may differ in any particular environment. The following three conditions
will always take precedence over the rule of thumb. If the blower
output air is diminished the gross screen needs cleaning or
the pre-filter needs changing. If you can smell outside odors
inside the room, the gas phase adsorber is reaching "break-through"
and needs changing. If a nuclear-bio-chemical event has taken place, the filters or
the whole filtration unit should be replaced as soon as possible,
and is considered hazardous waste.
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