Spacesuit Technology Applied to Firefighting PPE
A company is working on a new version of structural PPE utilizing spacesuit technology (from azom.com via FireFightingNews.com).
The technology used in space suits to protect astronauts carrying out space walks in direct sunlight is now being used to develop protective clothing to safeguard firefighters and steel workers who often work in extremely hot and dangerous conditions."The existing protective clothing used while performing physically demanding work in hot conditions can, in many cases, hinder workers' ability to remain cool," explains Stefano Carosio from the Italian company D'Appolonia, Project Manager for the Safe&Cool Project.
"Through this project, named Safe&Cool, we are developing a special protective material with a built-in cooling system based on the technology developed for the space suits used by astronauts on the International Space Station to prevent them from overheating when exposed to direct sunlight during space walks."
I'll be interested to see what the prototypes look like and see how they perform in hazardous environments.
