Matt Moore
The College of Textiles unveiled a new research facility on Monday that will allow researchers to test protective materials’ ability to prevent vapors from affecting first responders, according to project director Roger Barker, the director of the University’s Textile Protection and Comfort Center. The new facility, the Man-in-Simulant Test (MIST) laboratory, was built after the University received a $2 million grant from the Department of Defense, a grant secured by N.C. Representative Bob Etheridge.
“We are certainly grateful for Rep. Etheridge and the role he had in making the funding possible,” Barker said. “We really want to advance the level of protections for first responders. We’ve had an interest in research for materials and clothing systems for years and we needed to have a research facility where we could study protective gear and clothing materials in the College of Textiles.”
The newly built MIST lab will allow tests to be performed on both humans and mannequins to help determine how well vapors can be kept out of the suits of first responders like firefighters, hazmat crews and even military personnel.
Graduate student Bryan Ormond said the facility will use a nontoxic gas, comparable to mustard gas, to test protective garments in situations similar to what first responders may face in any emergency.
Test subjects will wear small adhesive pads that can be analyzed to determine the level of chemical absorption through openings in a garment. Both mannequins and human test subjects can perform activities that would mirror those of first responders in real-world situations.
“I’m trying to figure out different experiments to do, such as trying to figure out how the skin and even hair affects the absorption of chemicals,” Ormond said. “You don’t only have the skin differences but also the hair differences on people.”
Barker said the new facility is the only one of its kind on a college campus and will allow students to participate in extremely advanced research. Most labs capable of these types of tests are located within military testing installations and can be extremely inaccessible for academia, according to Barker.
“It really is a world-class facility that will improve our research and education programs,” Barker said. “It’s a way for our students to study protective materials and use cutting-edge laboratory technology that isn’t available anywhere else.”
Ormond said he cannot wait to get research underway at such an advanced facility.
“It’s a major accomplishment for the University because it’s the only facility of its kind in an academic institution,” he said. “It says a lot for N.C. State.”
Barker said the facility will undergo certain procedures throughout the next few days and weeks to make sure the chamber is ready for testing before researchers will officially begin to use the facility to its fullest.
“What we’re doing right now is going through the process of optimizing the chamber and installing certain testing protocols,” he said. “We’re sort of putting the chamber through its paces to sort of qualify the performance of the chamber for all conditions. We expect the chamber to be fully functional very soon.”