MIL-DTL-83538D
3.3.7.4 Decontaminants. Protection of the connectors and accessories shall be achieved by use of
design and materials resistant to BC agents, and any decontamination will be for protection of personnel.
However decontamination procedures for connector and accessories may be used as part of BC defense
training, but only non-aggressive decontamination stimulants such as water shall be used.
3.3.7.5 Method of decontamination. The only decontamination method that shall be used on
The connectors and accessories shall be washing with a detergent and water. However dusting of small
areas or transfer from personnel of Fullers' Earth may occur.
3.3.7.6 Detergent and water. A detergent/water wash is not strictly a decontamination procedure in
that the chemical agents are not destroyed, only moved to another location when the agent no longer
presents an operationally significant hazard. The detergent/water mix used shall be that specified for
aircraft washing.
3.3.7.7 Fullers' Earth (FE). Fullers' Earth is mainly issued as a personal decontaminant but is also
reasonably effective for connectors and accessories, except in the case of thickened agents. Agent is
physically absorbed and is effectively held by the powder provided that the chemical loading of the
absorbent does not exceed 10%. It should be noted that contaminated powder may be harmful if
ingested.
3.3.7.8 Chemical hardening operational considerations. Completely effective decontamination of
connectors and accessories is not currently considered operationally practicable because the chemical
agents may become inaccessible to decontaminants due to:
a. The permeability of materials to chemical agents.
b. The spread and trapping of agents in capillary spaces formed by rivets, screws,
joints, inspection plates, bolt-on fixtures etc.
These points shall be taken in consideration when it is realized that chemical agents combine the solvent
properties of paint stripper with the spreading characteristics of penetrating and release oils. The
connectors and accessories shall therefore be operated without decontamination and as such the
connector is to be hardened against damage which could affect its operational effectiveness.
3.4 Design and construction. Connectors and accessories shall be designed and constructed to
withstand normal handling incident to installation and maintenance in service.
3.4.1 Human performance/human engineering. The connector assembly design shall be directed
toward simplicity and error-free ease of installation and maintenance. The requirements of MIL-STD-
1472 shall be met, as appropriate, with emphasis on areas including personnel safety, component
marking, and component alignment and keying for blind mate operations. The design of the buffer plug
shall be such that the buffer plug can be installed on the launcher receptacle using MIL-DTL-83538/12
tool as an assembly aid by personnel wearing nuclear/biological/chemical warfare protective clothing
(specifically, gloves or arctic gloves).
3.4.2 Contacts. Contacts used in this connector shall be standard crimp contacts qualified in
accordance with SAE-AS39029. The twinaxial socket contacts shall be in accordance with SAE-
AS39029/91. The high bandwidths 1 and 2 coaxial socket contacts shall be in accordance with SAE-
AS9029/103. The high bandwidths 3 and 4 coaxial socket contacts shall be in accordance with SAE-
AS39029/75. The power and discrete socket contacts shall be in accordance with SAE-AS39029/56.
The buffer plug shall contain a full set of nonremovable contacts. Unless otherwise specified, each
receptacle shall contain a full complement of contacts with each connector unit package (see 1.2.1).
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