Ash Breathers

Ash Breathers are a variety of rebreather devices which filters the ash, soot, and pyroclastic particulate matter out of the air of Ashrain, protecting the lungs from inhalation of dangerous matter. Advanced variants also filter our toxic chemicals and aerosols, providing an extra level of protection and breathing capability. However, due to the extremely limited availability of modern technology following the Great Cataclysm, these advanced models are typically only possessed by larger survivor groups with established settlements.

Mechanics

Standard Ash Breather technology involves a facial covering of some sort capable of restricting air flow to the nose and mouth through any means other than the breathing aparatus. Makeshift Breathers take the form of masks, wraps, salvaged medical tech, and even just fabric wrapped tightly around the face. Advanced Breathers, designed and implemented by survivor groups with access to more advanced technology such as the ORM, consist of a mask which fits snugly about the face and connects to a filtration system by a series of tubes. Inhaled air is processed by the filter, which removes carcinogens, noxious fumes, toxic gases, and particulate matter before allowing it to pass through to the mouth and nose. These filters are not perfect, and do not process all harmful substances, but enable explorers to plumb the depths of highly toxified locations such as buried human ruins in search of lost resources.

Necessity

Ash Breather technology is not required to breath the air of Ashrain as it currently stands. The ecological devastation of the planet was global and catastrophic, but did not fully deplete the quintillion killograms (1,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg) of breathable Oxygen (O2) stored within the atmosphere. The obliteration of virtually all plant life and the cessation of photosynthesis put a halt to the addition of new O2 into the atmosphere, and the subsequent global surge of volcanic activity pumped volatile greenhouse gases and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, saturating it with toxic gases. However, even then, the amount of breathable O2 left was enough to make the majority of the planet's air breathable. However, without a sustainable source of renewable O2, that amount declines with every passing day as the atmosphere grows more and more toxic to humanity. As such, Ash Breathers are becoming more and more necessary as time progresses, a harrowing statement of the future for humanity. Regardless of the availability of O2 in the atmosphere, it remains hazardous to breathe given the volume of volcanic particulates and ash present in the air at all times. For this reason, many survivors have developed their own rudimentary form of Ash Breather tech to sustain themselves and avoid severe cases of ash lung.