Evaluation of a B-detection instrument : final report

On behalf of the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, FOI has aquired a B-trigger/warning instrument from Proengin, France. The instrument, MAB (Biological Agent Monitor), has been examined in laboratory experiment and in field trials. The instrument has served as a model instrument for flame photometry detection of biological agents and its ability to classify different simulants for biological agents has been studied with multivariate data analysis methods. Generally, the result shows that the instrument is performing well and is sensitive to the change in bioaerosol context. The multivariate data analysis shows that it might be possible to classify different types of bioaersols. However, that will require an extensive testing of a large variety of different bioaerosols under many different environmental conditions. The work has also resulted in improved capabilities for FOI and the Swedish NBC Defence Centre to perform biodetection field trials.