NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Ventus Respiratory Technologies, which has pioneered a new standard of respiratory protection for law enforcement, the armed forces, and first responders, is pleased to announce that its CEO, Arjun Grewal, has been selected to present at the Virginia Hazardous Materials (“HazMat”) Conference.
Grewal will speak alongside Jadie Miller of Pyroc, the talk is entitled: Breathing in Particulates and Exhaling Cognitive Injury, and will take place on Thursday September 21, from 2pm - 3:30pm.
The Virginia HazMat Conference is sponsored by The Virginia Association of Hazardous Materials Response Specialists, which operates in partnership with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM). The Conference and Expo runs September 19-22, 2023 at the Newport News Marriott at City Center.
“Exposure to contaminated particulate matter is common among military and law enforcement personnel. While gas masks are typically supplied to counter acute threats, protection from long-term, chronic exposure has historically been an afterthought,” said Arjun Grewal, CEO of Ventus, who previously spent 20 years with the Canadian Armed Forces. “Toxic exposure can occur in a range of environments including weapons training settings, as well as field exposures from environmental or structure fires, burn pits, desert sand, and many other sources.”
Ventus’ flagship product, the TR2 Tactical Respirator, is designed to protect the wearer from toxic exposure experienced from service-related training and operations. It is lightweight and easily integrates with existing protective and tactical equipment.
“We now know that burn pit emissions, for example, contain carcinogens, neurotoxins, and other dangerous compounds linked to chronic illness. There are also often dozens of heavy metals, such as lead, that are emitted during commonplace activities such as weapons training,” added Grewal. “And we know that no amount of lead is considered safe in the human body.”
The Brain Injury Association of America refers to lead as the “silent toxin” and highlights the difficulty of diagnosing chronic low-level lead exposure, because slightly elevated blood-lead levels often do not produce obvious symptoms immediately.
“The PACT Act of 2022 was the largest health care and benefit expansion in US VA history, and it specifically is addressing respiratory threats of this kind,” added Grewal. “We believe that the TR2 can be a key part of the solution, preventing these exposures in the future.”
The TR2 is the only fully CE-certified tactical respirator of its kind on the market. Ventus aims to see it become a standard-issue piece of PPE to protect soldiers, police, and first responders of all kinds.
Ventus is backed by ONE9 and Kensington Capital. ONE9 is Canada’s first and only venture capital fund and accelerator focused purely on national security and critical infrastructure technologies.
About Ventus Respiratory Technologies
Ventus Respiratory Technologies has pioneered a new standard of respiratory protection for military, police, and first responders. Its flagship product, the TR2, is positioned to become the global standard as the only fully CE-certified particulate respirator in this class, on the market. The TR2 protects the wearer from toxic exposure with class-leading filtration in a compact, lightweight, breathable, and interoperable form factor. Its technology-forward design provides a platform for the integration of sensors, biometrics, IoT, and voice-operated applications. Ventus is veteran-run and has direct access to an elite special forces end-user military network, and a growing number of distribution partners worldwide. Learn more: https://ventusrespiratory.com/