US military develops high-tech protection gear against Syrian chemical attacks

The US' Department of Defence (DoD) is reportedly working on cutting-edge technology to help its forces against potential chemical weapons in Syria.

The DoD is developing a nerve agent hunter called Bioscavenger to be taken before deploying into a chemical warfare risk zone which would defend against exposure to a range of nerve agents and protect the warfighter from death and toxic effects.

According to Fox News, the Bioscavenger is produced in the milk of transgenic goats and can help defend against toxics including the deadly sarin.

Apart from the consumption of the nerve agent hunter, warfighters need to adopt Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) level 4 in which the personnel wear protective gear and steps are taken to ensure all their drawstrings are tightly pulled to reduce the risk of any openings and exposure.

The DoD is also working on a skin cream that creates a film barrier against the chemicals and before suiting up, warfighters need to apply the cream paying particular attention to protective suit closure points like the neck, wrists and ankles.

The report said that if one is exposed to the nerve agent sarin, there is an antidote kit like the Mark I Nerve Agent Antidote Kit includes the nerve agent antidote atropine and experts believe its improved version is the Antidote Treatment Nerve Agent Autoinjector (ATNAA).

A warfighter can therefore use the autoinjector to sequentially deliver atropine and 2-PAM through a single needle.

If a warfighter is exposed to a nerve agent, methods to decontaminate skin and wounds would improve the chance of survival by using activated charcoal which absorbs the chemical agent apart from an individually carried skin decontamination kit.