THE USE OF WATER CURTAINS TO PROTECT FIREMEN IN CASE OF HEAVY GAS DISPERSION

The aim of this paper is to study the effectiveness of the water curta ins used by firemen in France to protect people fighting chemical spil lage. The effectiveness of these barriers is a reduction in concentrat ion behind it by a factor of 10 at a distance of approximately 13 m an d a factor of 3 at a distance of approximately 20 m in the case of amm onia releases. The results of similar studies of a wide variety of tox ic gases will provide a quick and reliable tool for firefighters, whic h will help to define at what distance to place the curtain and predic t the concentrations behind it. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rig hts reserved.