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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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2000

Peace and Conflict Studies

PPE

Articles 1 - 12 of 12

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The U.S. Approach: Deminer Personal Protective Equipment Development, George Zahaczewsky Jun 2000

The U.S. Approach: Deminer Personal Protective Equipment Development, George Zahaczewsky

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The deminer and his partner began work at 0730. By 0850, they had cleared 50 square meters. Both men wore frag-jackets, helmets and visors. The victim was clearing by using his prodder. He was called to help his section leader remove grass from a large pothole in the road. As he returned at 0850, he stepped on a mine he had previously missed. (Extracted from the Database of Demining Incident Victims, 1999, Incident #53.)


Comparative Study Of Different Lightweight Head Protection Systems With Full-Face Visors For Humanitarian Deminers, J. Nerenberg, S. Islam, Aris Makris, J.P. Dionne Jun 2000

Comparative Study Of Different Lightweight Head Protection Systems With Full-Face Visors For Humanitarian Deminers, J. Nerenberg, S. Islam, Aris Makris, J.P. Dionne

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

A key component of any Personal Protective Ensemble (PPE) for demining is the helmet and/or face shield. For obvious reasons, protecting the face of a deminer is of utmost importance in case of an accidental detonation of a mine. Currently, a wide range of head and face protective devices are available for the deminer, and this study attempts to evaluate these devices from several perspectives.


The Facts On Protection Needs In Humanitarian Demining, Andy Smith Jun 2000

The Facts On Protection Needs In Humanitarian Demining, Andy Smith

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

When assessing protection needs, my approach has been to determine what the risks are, what injuries result and then decide how to minimize these risks and protect against any residual danger. I also bear in mind that there is no point in prescribing an action or a garment that will not be used.


The Journal Of Mine Action Issue 4.2 (2000), Cisr Journal Jun 2000

The Journal Of Mine Action Issue 4.2 (2000), Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Deminers, Manual Demining & Their Personal Protection


A Full-Scale Evaluation Of Lightweight Personal Protective Ensembles For Demining In Providing Protection Against Blast-Type Anti-Personnel Mines, Aris Makris, J. Nerenberg Jun 2000

A Full-Scale Evaluation Of Lightweight Personal Protective Ensembles For Demining In Providing Protection Against Blast-Type Anti-Personnel Mines, Aris Makris, J. Nerenberg

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

A wide range of equipment, in the form of helmets, vests, aprons and trousers, is currently in use around the world to protect deminers against the effects of AP mines. Significant variations exist in terms of the level of protection afforded, operational usefulness, quality of manufacturing and cost of each of these components. To date, there have been limited studies undertaken to systematically and quantitatively assess the effectiveness of the different protective components applied to both the civilian and military demining theaters. This study summarizes the efforts of numerous full-scale test series carried out in 1999, with particular emphasis on …


Countering The Global Landmine Epidemic Through Basic Scientific Research, Mark S. Rountree, Robert M. Harris Jun 2000

Countering The Global Landmine Epidemic Through Basic Scientific Research, Mark S. Rountree, Robert M. Harris

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since their first use during the U.S. Civil War (Croll 1998), blast landmines have played a role in almost every armed conflict from the World Wars to the most recent limited skirmishes. Landmines are the epitome of the consummate soldier: always ready, never tiring. Mines are simple devices that can be fabricated with little effort and from readily available materials. In Sri Lanka, numerous news releases covering the conflict mention a "Johnny mine" (Botsford 1997), which is a local term for an improvised explosive device. Manufactured mines can be inexpensive, costing as little as two dollars apiece. If mine laying …


International Standards For Personal Protective Equipment, Alastair Mcaslan, Keith Feigenbaum Jun 2000

International Standards For Personal Protective Equipment, Alastair Mcaslan, Keith Feigenbaum

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

International Standards for Mine Action are being revised by the United Nations. As part of the revision process, a working group on personal protective equipment (WGPPE) has been established to examine the subject of safety in mine clearance operations, and to make recommendations on standards and guidelines for PPE. This paper is based on the WGPPE's report.


The Spider Boot: An Effective Foot Protection System Against Anti-Personnel Mine Blasts, S. Islam, Aris Makris, Denis Bergeron Jun 2000

The Spider Boot: An Effective Foot Protection System Against Anti-Personnel Mine Blasts, S. Islam, Aris Makris, Denis Bergeron

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

It is estimated that about 70 million AP landmines are deployed worldwide, slowing down the economic recovery of war torn countries and causing indiscriminate injuries to returning civilian populations long after the end of a conflict. Several military and non-military organizations are currently engaged in mine clearance, either in support of peacekeeping operations or for humanitarian demining.


The Effectiveness Of Different Personal Protective Ensembles In Preventing Injury To The Thorax From Blast-Type Anti-Personnel Mines, J. Nerenberg, Aris Makris, H. Kleine Jun 2000

The Effectiveness Of Different Personal Protective Ensembles In Preventing Injury To The Thorax From Blast-Type Anti-Personnel Mines, J. Nerenberg, Aris Makris, H. Kleine

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

It is well established from numerous documented cases of bomb blasts that, under certain conditions (determined by the amount and proximity of explosive), the transmitted shock wave and associated overpressure generated by the detonation of an explosive device can cause critical and fatal injuries to the thorax, e.g., “blast lung.” As such injuries tend to be internal and thus difficult to detect, there has been considerable debate in recent years on the significance of the blast overpressure injury in the context of demining/mine clearance compared to more visible injuries, such as, amputation of extremities, fragmentation wounds and blindness. A wide …


Personal Protective Equipment: The Never-Ending Story, Lance J. Malin Jun 2000

Personal Protective Equipment: The Never-Ending Story, Lance J. Malin

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Now, as always, there is a huge debate about what protection is required and what Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should be provided for personnel engaged in demining operations. Current opinion varies drastically between individual demining organizations, countries in which they operate and between governing bodies, which are coordinating the demining efforts.


Deminers, Manual Demining And Their Protective Equipment, Norman Stewart Jun 2000

Deminers, Manual Demining And Their Protective Equipment, Norman Stewart

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In Cambodia, a deminer was working in the prone position and set off an anti-personnel type 72 Chinese tilt mine. The resulting blast went over his head and did not damage his exposed hands. The blast over-pressure sucked air and dirt into his helmet visor and punctured his eye, which recovered fully. This over-pressure problem was caused by an air gap between the helmet visor and his protective jacket. Within seven days a new visor was dispatched from the manufacturer to my specifications, tested and found to remove the air gap problem. As part of the daily safety checks carried …


Ddas: Protection Needs In Humanitarian Demining, The Facts (2000), Hd-Aid Apr 2000

Ddas: Protection Needs In Humanitarian Demining, The Facts (2000), Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

I have approached this subject by studying the risks that deminers really face and the injuries that result, then working out how to minimise risk and protect against any residual danger. I bore in mind that there was no point is prescribing an action or a garment that would not be used. This is not an approach widely endorsed in the protective equipment industry, which apparently prefers to base its assessment of risk on experimental data and a scale of injury borrowed from the automobile industry. If the injuries commonly predicted by them were accurate, most of the accident victims …