Applicator for hazardous materials

An applicator comprising:

• a housing (302, 402, 502, 602, 702, 802, 902, 1002, 1102, 1902) having a chamber (308, 408, 508, 608, 708, 808, 1008, 1108), a discharge port (310, 410, 510, 610, 710, 810, 1010, 1110), and a valve (314, 414, 514, 614, 714, 814, 1014, 1114) movable between a closed position in which the discharge port is not in fluid communication with the chamber, and an open position in which the discharge port is in fluid communication with the chamber, and a valve spring (318, 418, 518, 618, 718, 818, 1018, 1118) configured to bias the valve towards the closed position;
• and
• a wick (312, 412, 512, 612, 712, 812, 912, 1012, 1112, 1912) movably connected to the housing and configured to transmit an axial load to the valve to move the valve from the closed position to the open position, the wick comprising a material suitable to receive a fluid from the discharge port and pass the fluid to a location outside the housing;
• wherein the applicator is characterized by:
• means for supporting and/or increasing a stiffness of the wick (322, 422, 522, 622, 722, 824, 922, 1021, 1124, 1922, 1930);
• wherein the means for supporting and/or increasing the stiffness of the wick comprises a tube (322, 522, 622, 824, 922, 1922) surrounding at least a portion of the wick;
• wherein the wick is mounted to the tube to be movable between an extended position and a retracted position, and a wick spring (526) is operatively positioned between the wick and the tube and configured to bias the wick to the extended position;
• and
• wherein the wick spring has a lower spring constant than the valve spring.