Anyone entering a zone in a gas-tight chemical protective suit has thirty minutes at most under German fire service regulations — and must keep enough air in reserve for decontamination. The question is what that time is spent on — finding out, or doing something about it.
Under FwDV 500, the German fire service regulation for CBRN operations, breathing apparatus worn beneath encapsulating protective clothing such as a gas-tight suit should be used for no more than 30 minutes — even if the air supply would last longer. At the same time, the operation has to be planned so that enough air remains for decontamination. Everything has to happen inside that window: in, look, measure, out, decontaminate.
Then there is what a single entry ties up. A team in a gas-tight suit needs a backup team, an established decontamination line and the personnel to bring them out and decontaminate them. The decision to send someone in is therefore never a decision about that one person alone.
And here is the heart of it: a large share of these entries serve to establish facts rather than to act. What is escaping, how far has it spread, is the zone clear. That is precisely the part a vehicle can take over — leaving the limited time in the suit for the work that genuinely needs hands.
Four tasks that can be handled by sensors and mechanics — and that today each cost one entry in a suit.
Establishing whether an area may be entered. Under DGUV Rule 113-004, the German accident insurers’ rules for work in vessels, silos and confined spaces, this requires gas testing in most cases: which substances are present in what concentration, and whether there is a risk of oxygen deficiency — measured at a representative point, not at the edge. Since in many cases monitoring continues throughout the work, the vehicle can stay inside.
Detecting chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive hazards and tying each reading to a position. The result is not a single value but a georeferenced picture of how far the substance has spread.
Picking up material and bringing it out to where it can be analysed — without anyone having to enter the zone for it. The sample leaves the area; the person never enters it in the first place.
Retrieving objects from the contaminated area, covering a leak, repositioning a drum, operating a valve. For heavier loads the winch takes over what the arm cannot manage.
For recurring measurements in normal operation rather than during an incident, see plant inspection — the same sensors, a different occasion.