Gas masks may be (still) killing more people than saving lives
Dear Editors
I refer to the rapid response by Higgins et al (ref 1)
"In WW2 every man, woman and child was gifted a gas mask. More people in the UK have now died of COVID-19 than lives lost in the Blitz"
I understand very well Dr Higgins' advocacy regarding the matter of reusable FFP3 masks for every healthcare workers, by citing the ability of the government to issue a gas mask to every British resident on the outbreak of the second world war; I however have some doubts about the relevance and applicability of this citation as support and expected capacity for the Johnson government to do this now.
I would have left it unchallenged if Mr/Dr Moynagh had not further put his response in support by using the same gas mask example.
I would have to state that the "gas-mask for every British resident" example is inappropriate for the following reasons:
1. The British government had at least 3 years to prepare making 70 million and more masks since it was one of the greatest fears left from the experience of the Great War.
"One can only hazard a guess at how many millions were manufactured but a company in Blackburn, Lancashire, had a contract from the government in 1936 to make 70 million and production continued throughout the war." (ref 3)
2. There was no known widespread poison gas attack used during the Blitz of 1940-1, hence civilian deaths from poison gas prevented by the use of gas masks during this period is probably negligible.
3. The true legacy of the gas mask from the Second World War is still evolving for the manufacture of gas mask filters have for many years during and long after this war (especially in Soviet masks) contained asbestos.
In fact the Communication Workers Union - North East Anglia claimed:
"Breathing blue asbestos in the war time gas mask factories resulted in the death of 10% of the workforce due to pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma."
It is probably uncertain if any of the people who practised drills with the gas masks during the war had been exposed to the blue asbestos and if they would be the true reason for some of the unexplained exposure to asbestos causing mesothelioma we have seen over the last 70 years.
However this risk is still real as some gas masks from the Second World War and the Cold War are still being sold and handled as war relics and military memorabilia in flea markets (ref 3), homes and museums all over the world.
So the gas masks may very well be killing more people from their use than saving them from poison gas.
Rapid Response:
Gas masks may be (still) killing more people than saving lives
Dear Editors
I refer to the rapid response by Higgins et al (ref 1)
"In WW2 every man, woman and child was gifted a gas mask. More people in the UK have now died of COVID-19 than lives lost in the Blitz"
I understand very well Dr Higgins' advocacy regarding the matter of reusable FFP3 masks for every healthcare workers, by citing the ability of the government to issue a gas mask to every British resident on the outbreak of the second world war; I however have some doubts about the relevance and applicability of this citation as support and expected capacity for the Johnson government to do this now.
I would have left it unchallenged if Mr/Dr Moynagh had not further put his response in support by using the same gas mask example.
I would have to state that the "gas-mask for every British resident" example is inappropriate for the following reasons:
1. The British government had at least 3 years to prepare making 70 million and more masks since it was one of the greatest fears left from the experience of the Great War.
"One can only hazard a guess at how many millions were manufactured but a company in Blackburn, Lancashire, had a contract from the government in 1936 to make 70 million and production continued throughout the war." (ref 3)
2. There was no known widespread poison gas attack used during the Blitz of 1940-1, hence civilian deaths from poison gas prevented by the use of gas masks during this period is probably negligible.
3. The true legacy of the gas mask from the Second World War is still evolving for the manufacture of gas mask filters have for many years during and long after this war (especially in Soviet masks) contained asbestos.
In fact the Communication Workers Union - North East Anglia claimed:
"Breathing blue asbestos in the war time gas mask factories resulted in the death of 10% of the workforce due to pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma."
It is probably uncertain if any of the people who practised drills with the gas masks during the war had been exposed to the blue asbestos and if they would be the true reason for some of the unexplained exposure to asbestos causing mesothelioma we have seen over the last 70 years.
However this risk is still real as some gas masks from the Second World War and the Cold War are still being sold and handled as war relics and military memorabilia in flea markets (ref 3), homes and museums all over the world.
So the gas masks may very well be killing more people from their use than saving them from poison gas.
Be careful of using poor examples.
Reference
1. https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1743/rr-6
2. https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1743/rr-8
3. https://www.militaria-history.co.uk/articles/gas-mask-dangers/
4. http://www.cwunea.org/article.php?articleid=1233
Competing interests: No competing interests