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Crew members of the CH124B (Sea King) helicopter are exposed to elevated noise levels. To minimize noise levels as well as to insulate electrical wiring, the Sea King is equipped with a liner, which reduces noise. Recently the Sea King helicopters have been equipped with a new type of liner. Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) Toronto was asked to verify the noise levels in the Sea King during flight with the new liner and compare it with the old liner. Equivalent noise levels and octave band analysis were performed on a Sea King helicopter from Shearwater in February 5 and 6, 2008. Results showed that the new liner has absorption capabilities similar to or better than the old liner, except at the very low frequency of 8 Hz where absorption capability was lower for the new liner. Although at-ear sound pressure levels were not measured, it is reasonable to assume that they are acceptable with the new liner since they were acceptable with the old liner. Since sound pressure levels are significantly higher when the cargo door is open, it was recommended to open the door only for a short period of time to avoid excessive exposure for the crewmen and troops.

Airborne substances emitted during live gun firing of the anti-tank Carl Gustav 84 mm weapon were characterized during a live firing training exercise in Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Valcartier in February 2007. Sampling was performed continuously for two hours throughout the exercise during which particles and chemicals accumulated on sampling media. In total, seventyone rounds were fired at two firing bays. Established occupational health methods were used to collect and analyze samples for particulate matter, hydrogen cyanide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dinitrotoluene compounds, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene, metals, aldehydes, nitric acid (HNO3), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and sulphur dioxide (SO2). Two sets of samples were collected at two sampling stations. Both sampling stations were located behind Firing Bay #2. Most of the chemicals were not detected during the trial. For both sets of samples, particles were found at concentrations much higher than the recommended environmental standards. These findings suggest that there is a potential risk to health associated with exposure to particles for artillery soldiers. For contaminants, concentrations were detected at higher levels at Station #1 than at Station #2 since the first station was closer to the firing bay. Hydrogen cyanide was detected at concentrations of 26.7 and 21.7 g/m3 for Stations #1 and #2, respectively. Lead was detected at concentrations of 2.8 and 2.1 g/m3 for Stations #1 and #2, respectively. Acetaldehyde was detected at concentrations of 12.7 and 9.3 g/m3, respectively, and formaldehyde was also detected at concentrations of 8.2 and 5.8 g/m3 for Stations #1 and #2, respectively. Although iron and propionaldehyde were also detected, it is believed that the concentrations observed were too low to create a potential risk for the soldiers., Text in English; abstracts in French and English.

Atmospheric emissions produced by live gun firing of the 155 mm howitzer were characterized during a live firing training exercise in Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Valcartier in January 2007. Sampling was performed continuously for three hours during the exercise during which particles and chemicals accumulated on sampling media. Sixty-nine rounds were fired, each round using four bags of propellant, and an additional 3 rounds were fired, each round using 5 bags of propellant. Established occupational health methods were used to collect and analyze samples for particulate matter, hydrogen cyanide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dinitrotoluene compounds, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene, metals, aldehydes, nitric acid (HNO3), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and sulphur dioxide (SO2). Two sets of samples were collected, one at approximately 8 m at the left of the gun, and the second one at approximately 22 m in front of the gun muzzle, in the line of fire. Most of the chemicals were not detected during the trial. For both sets of samples, particles were found at concentrations much higher than the recommended environmental standards. The size distribution showed that at least 60% of the particles were below 10 micrometers. These findings suggest that there is a potential risk to health associated with exposure to particles for artillery soldiers. Formaldehyde was also detected at concentrations of 7.1 and 3.6 micrograms/cu m for the left and the front locations, respectively. These findings suggest that there is a need to conduct personal sampling to assess the health risk, if any, to artillery soldiers. For all substances, it is recommended that further investigations of air concentrations be made to properly assess personal exposure. It is also recommended to use more sensitive environmental methods to collect and analyse the samples., Text in English. Abstracts in English and French. The original document contains color images.

Water contamination can pose a serious health risk to divers of the Canadian Forces (CF) required to dive in many different environments. D Dive S tasked DRDC to develop a health risk matrix in order to help the decision makers to evaluate the risks associated with water contamination in a particular area. This report contains information about water contamination and recommendations on contamination assessment. A matrix was developed using Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines (Canadian Council of Resource and Environment Ministers, 1998) as well as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) guidelines (NATO, 2002). The matrix also contains information on maximum environmental levels, health risks and toxicity, sources, uses and potentially contaminated areas. As the matrix is a tool for divers, few recommendations are given for its use. A list of useful web sites is also given., Text in English. Abstracts in English and French.

The Water Collection Purification System project is part of the Shelter and Survival Equipment project (12cy) sponsored by DLR. The objective is to provide to the military a water purification system suitable for all operational/environmental conditions. The capabilities of the CF in terms of both purification and testing have been assessed. Users of the current system as well as PMed technicians have been contacted in order to discuss both the capabilities and the requirements. An assessment based on manufacturer specifications of the off-the-shelf purification systems has been done. The identification of commercial system capabilities and their validation will be done during the next two years.

Cassiede, M., Mercier,P., Shipley, P.R., Dueck, M., Kamravaei, S., Nair, S., … Quemerais, B. (2018). Comparison of computational approaches for identification and quantification of urinary metabolites in 1H NMR spectra. Analytical Methods, 18. Available here.