General Description
The M18A3 Chemical Agent Detector Kit is designed primarily for detecting dangerous concentrations of vapors, aerosols, and liquid droplets of the chemical agents listed below. This kit will be used primarily by chemical specialty personnel assigned at the organizational level. This kit's capability provides for the sampling of unknown NBC agents. If a chemical agent is suspected but cannot be detected with the kit, vapor samples can be collected in sampling tubes for forwarding to a laboratory for identification. The principle uses of the kit are:
For reconnaissance in areas suspected of chemical agent contamination.
For finding the boundaries of contaminated areas.
For determining the absence of a chemical agent so that following a chemical attack, unmasking can occur.
For testing for the presence of a chemical agent after decontamination.
For collecting samples of suspected but unidentified chemical agents.
Technical Description
Agents listed below are detected by the M18A3 Chemical Agent Detector Kit:
Cyanogen Chloride (CK)
Mustards [(H), (HD), (HN), and (HT)]
Phosgene Oxime (CX)
Hydrocyanic Acid (AC)
Phosgene (CG)
Lewisite (L)
Ethyl Dichloroarsine (ED)
Methyl Dichloroarsine (MD)
Nerve Agents (V- and G-agents)
Evaluation Criteria
THROUGHPUT:
Between 2 and 15 minutes for detection
1 sample, single test/ sample per run
The system or device is currently semi-automated
Device or system is designed for a single use
0-1 solutions, buffer, eluents, and/or reagents
0 components
No set-up of the system is required
LOGISTICS:
An afternoon of training and some technical skills required
Approximately the size of a toaster
Less than 1 kg
This system is not capable of transmitting data
There is no electrical requirement
OPERATIONS:
Can be used from < -21°C to > 42°C (All temperatures)
Performance is not influenced by relative humidity
Greater than 3 years shelf life
The system is not capable of autonomy
The system does not employ any software
The system is single use or this question does not apply to this device
DETECTION:
Not possible for the system to achieve clearance
Not possible for the system to achieve approval
This system does not test liquids and this question does not apply
> 1x10-3 mg/m3
Does not detect liquid samples
System can identify aerosolized chemical agent
System can identify liquid chemical agent
Tier Selection
The in-depth, 99 question survey used to evaluate all detectors was weighted and scored by subject matter experts. The question weighting was specific to each of the four scenarios. Once all the detectors were scored, they were placed into tiers based on how they compared to other detectors of the same type (bio, chem or rad) and scenario (field, mobile, diagnostic, and analytical).
Field Use
Mobile
Diagnostic
Analytical
Tier Key:
Top Tier
Second Tier
Third Tier
Fourth Tier
Bottom Tier
Scoring Analysis
System scores are compared across the four scenarios and ranked from highest to lowest.
Impact Chart
The Impact Chart is a spider graph representing specific categories and designed to give the reader a visual depiction of how a particular system is expected to operate across the four different scenarios. The score for each of the seven categories is presented as the percentage of the total possible score. Higher category scores extend the spokes of a graphic toward the outer edge of the chart. The area graphed for each of the four scenarios relates to how well the system performed in that scenario. Graphics for each of the four scenarios are super-imposed for ease of comparison.
Top Tier
Second Tier
Third Tier
Fourth Tier
Bottom Tier
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