Historical background
Chemical warfare agents - 30 t of chlorine - were first used in April 1915, an event which led to serious discussions within the Swiss army and gave rise first ever studies on gas protection. It became obvious within a relatively short space of time that a permanent scientific service was needed. On 8 February 1918 the "gas service" of the University of Berne was set up, which would later become the SPIEZ LABORATORY, as we know it today.
The SPIEZ LABORATORY boasts an extensive infrastructure and state of the art technical facilities which enable work in the field of individual NBC protection.
The Individual Protection Working Group uses its in-depth specialist knowledge and testing capabilities to ensure the effectiveness and quality of individual NBC protective material. Even today one of our main priorities continues to be the treatment of chemically-polluted air, based on the gas adsorption of activated charcoal. However, over time our activities have gradually incorporated civilian applications too. The last large-scale military projects in which we participated concerned the introduction of the NBC protective filter 90 and the NBC protective suit CSA 90 - components of the individual chemical protection system used by the Swiss armed forces.
The fall of the Berlin Wall led to a shift in emphasis and a redirection in SPIEZ LABORATORY activities. This in turn provided the Individual Protection Working Group with the opportunity to make their extensive experience and specialist knowledge of adsorption and filter technology available to private clients, i.e. industry. Expert reports as well as technical and scientific research (such as the modelling of dynamic sorption processes) enable us not only to deepen our knowledge but use it in wider applications. This is particularly true of measurement and testing technology, where we can provide high quality results thanks to our qualified staff and high tech equipment.
As part of the ISO/IEC 17025 accredited testing laboratory for adsorbents and breathing protection filters (STS 022) we in the Individual Protection Working Group can provide over 32 specific tests.
The SPIEZLABORATORY has a large number of expert working groups in a wide range of specialist fields. There are Issues which need to be handled jointly by several working groups, a fact which is welcomed wholeheartedly by the SPIEZ LABORATORY.