SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
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MILITARY GAS MASKS FOR RESCUE WORK IN MINES. 
The Chemicals Committee of the Institute has considered a 
suggestion by Mr. C. H. Blakemore, Mining Engineer, Sydney, that 
military gas masks might be used for rescue work in mines. 
There are certain mines where the fire danger is a serious one, such 
as in the mines of the Broken Hill district, which are heavily timbered 
with a very inflammable wood, and their history already contains several 
serious fires accompanied with loss of life. 
Mr. Blakemore states—“ There are other mines which possess ore of 
a class that, under certain circumstances, will take fire spontaneously 
due to chemical decomposition. I know of at least three copper mines 
in New South Wales where such fires—I might call them chemical fires 
—have occurred. 
' “There are only known to us to-day such things as the Draeger 
Smoke Helmet, a thing which is very heavy to carry and which requires 
some considerable training to make it safe for the wearers. <A further 
disability is the expense of the fitting. Now, it appears to me that the 
Military Gas Helmet which I have seen is light in weight, is easily 
adjusted, and is cheap in construction. It was capable of excluding 
such deadly gases as phosgene, and, with a little experimenting, might 
be made capable of being used in air which contains either CO,, CO, 
SO.,, or SO,, no matter in what quantity.” 
He suggests that these light, cheap, and easily-adjusted gas masks 
could be provided in quantity to enable a number of men to take part in 
the rescue work; a filtering medium or absorbent could be used that 
would free the air from any of the above gases, and possibly a small 
cylinder of compressed oxygen could also be carried for use in cases 
where the oxygen has been reduced below the amount neccssary to 
-support life. 
The Chemicals Committee reports that, though this suggestion is a 
very important one and worthy of consideration, it is, unless consider- 
ably modified, open to the fatal objection that the gas masks charged 
with any ordinary absorbent are absolutely useless as a protection 
against carbon monoxide, and the first indication of the presence of this 
gas would be the collapse of the wearer. 
All the latest models of army gas masks (British and American) 
consist essentially of-— 
(a) a mask, fitted with goggles, nose clip, and mouth-piece; 
(b) a connecting tube with valves; and 
(c).a canister filled with absorbent chemicals. 
It is interesting to note that the first of this type was the Melbourne 
University Box Respirator; minor improvements have been added to the 
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