Protective Respiratory Equipment

Firstly, I'm not a Nuclear/Biological/Chemical Warfare (NBC) specialist. Aside from standard military training I have no advanced training of any kind. Last year, I purchased two never-issued Israeli M15 military gas masks. Each mask came with one sealed filter and one universal drinking tube.

My intention for these masks is for protection from smoke, human waste, industrial chemical waste, and primarily protection from non-lethal tear gas or riot gas. Living in an urban environment, it does not take a stretch of the imagination to believe that law enforcement or military forces would deploy non-lethal gas against populated areas as a riot control method.

I've been monitoring a thread on a forum discussing gas masks. Almost immediately, a few members stated that surplus gas masks, even new ones, are worthless and obsolete. They even go so far as to say that surplus filters contain asbestos, and you should dispose of them immediately! Once disposed of, you should visit this website and spend $400+ on a new mask and full Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) gear! And you know what? PEOPLE BOUGHT IT!

These guys are touting brand-new masks, $400+ MOPP suits, gloves, boots, and a few are even discussing Geiger counters! They claim to have served in the 82nd Airborne and know what they're talking about.

Yes, a MOPP suit and gas mask can protect you against chemical and biological attacks, yet far from indefinitely. Once your suits are exposed to a chemical or biological agent, you only have 8-10 hours to evacuate the contaminated area, decontaminate yourself, and replace your suit. In the military, the decontamination process occurs at the BATTALION level!

As a private citizen, you will not have the decontamination support nor the resources to continually replace filters and suits. Dropping hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on NBC equipment is only prolonging your life about 8 hours longer than mine. Enjoy the view.

Something else that I've added to my kits are P-100 Particulate masks. These offer respiratory protection from solid and liquid particles in the air, including those containing oils.

Living in the American Southwest, wildfires are a frequent and urgent concern. I've been evacuated twice due to wildfires, and I will tell you that the air will be a grayish-orange with a lot of dust and ash in the air. You would attract a lot of attention to yourself by walking around with a gas mask on, which is why I've included these common looking P-100 masks in my home.