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Mark Sennett
Managing Editor |
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Kelly Rose
Editor |
ARTICLE
Are you about to choose your teams' chemical protective clothing?
23 January 2013
Ask the right questions, advises Dupont, as not all materials offer the same protection barrier...

Ask the right questions: Not all materials offer the same protection barrier.
As a specialist in personal protective equipment, DuPont Personal Protection has put together an online training tool that provides complete support for the selection of protective garments to guarantee that Type 4 chemical spray-resistant suits can be used with complete confidence.
This guide is based on several selection criteria that include:
1: Permeation -Demand an effective barrier against common chemicals
Tests performed by an independent certified laboratory have shown that Tyvek reaches a breakthrough time of 480 min (the equivalent of an entire workday) with sodium hydroxide 40%, whereas microporous films reach between 0 min and 195 min with sodium hydroxide 10%.
2: Abrasion resistance
In order to assess abrasion resistance constitutes an inherent substrate barrier, the current method is to use a coin. The coin edge is rubbed across the fabric to be tested to see if it remains intact or not.
3: Permeability to air and water vapour
Air permeability is measured by the Gurley test according to ISO Standard 5636/5. According to this test, TYVEK garments offer air circulation that is greatly superior to that of microporous films.
For a complete list of criteria that will help you select safe garments, go to:
www.dpp-europe.com
As a specialist in personal protective equipment, DuPont Personal Protection has put together an online training tool that provides complete support for the selection of protective garments to guarantee that Type 4 chemical spray-resistant suits can be used with complete confidence.
This guide is based on several selection criteria that include:
1: Permeation -Demand an effective barrier against common chemicals
Tests performed by an independent certified laboratory have shown that Tyvek reaches a breakthrough time of 480 min (the equivalent of an entire workday) with sodium hydroxide 40%, whereas microporous films reach between 0 min and 195 min with sodium hydroxide 10%.
2: Abrasion resistance
In order to assess abrasion resistance constitutes an inherent substrate barrier, the current method is to use a coin. The coin edge is rubbed across the fabric to be tested to see if it remains intact or not.
3: Permeability to air and water vapour
Air permeability is measured by the Gurley test according to ISO Standard 5636/5. According to this test, TYVEK garments offer air circulation that is greatly superior to that of microporous films.
For a complete list of criteria that will help you select safe garments, go to:
www.dpp-europe.com
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