Burn Resistant Makeup For Soldiers Presented At Conference In Philadelphia
By Lynne Adkins
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A new makeup has been designed to protect soldiers from burns when a roadside bomb explodes.
The military asked Dr. Robert Lochhead to invent a makeup to protect soldiers from the burning heat of a roadside bomb. It took 2 years, but the director of the school of polymers and high performance materials at the University of Southern Mississippi was successful.
"The blast only lasts two seconds but that's enough to cook a soldier, the deal they gave us was can you stop it for 4 seconds -- our worst performing product is now up to 15 seconds our best is up to a minute -- that gives the soldier time to escape the blast and burning vehicle.
He says the product could also be used by firefighters and race car drivers. Dr. Lochhead presented his research to the American Chemical Society meeting this week in Philadelphia.
