Hazmat suit
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A Hazmat suit is a fully encapsulating garment worn as protection from hazardous materials or substances. It may used by firefighters, emergency personnel responding to toxic spills, researchers or military personnel.
[edit] Capabilities
Hazmat suits may provide protection from:
- Chemical agents - through the use of appropriate barrier materials like heavy PVC or rubber and Tyvek, and clean breathing air
- Nuclear agents - by including some radiation shielding in the lining, but more importantly, by preventing direct contact with or inhalation of radioactive particles or gasses
- Biological agents - by providing a fully sealed system (often at overpressure to prevent introduction of biological agents even if the suit is damaged) together with an external air source, usually a tank or via hose connection (in laboratories)
- Fire/high temperatures - usually by a combination of insulating and reflective materials
Hazmat suits generally include breathing air supplies to provide clean, uncontaminated air for the wearer. Working in a Hazmat Suit is very strenous. The suits tend to be less flexible than conventional work garments, and are hot and poorly ventilated (if at all). Therefore use is usually limited to short durations ranging from 0.5-2 hours, depending on the difficulty of the work.
[edit] Hazmat Suits in Fiction
Hazmat suits have long been an important device in fiction, especially science fiction, to accentuate the lethality of environments. Common dramatic situations usually involve a suit failure leading to rapid death in films such as The Andromeda Strain or Outbreak. Plot resolutions usually make the removal of a suit a pivotal moment in the story.
The anonymity provided by hazmat suits has often been used to accentuate sinister motives, the scientists in E.T. are a good example of this, as are the farcical squad of hazmat encased characters in the animation Monsters Inc.
A contemporary fictional example of the hazmat suit is perhaps best demonstrated by the Hazardous Environment Suit as worn by Gordon Freeman in the Half-Life series of computer games. In this context, Freeman's H.E.V. suit is used as an explanation for his resistance to enviromental hazards and physical damage, the suit having some of the properties of power armour. An actual Hazmat suit also appears in the game Deus Ex, and can be used temporarily when entering hazardous environments.
[edit] Sources
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