CONTENTS:

Articles:

Comparing the Flammability of Fabrics in Accordance with EN 531 and ENV 50354 Helena Mäkinen & Suvi Sanna Mustonen, 207-213       Physiological Evaluation of Chemical Protective Suit Systems (CPSS) in Hot Conditions Raija Ilmarinen, Harri Lindholm, Kari Koivistoinen & Petteri Helistén, 215-226       Moisture Effects in Heat Transfer Through Clothing Systems for Wildland Firefighters Lelia K. Lawson, Elizabeth M. Crown, Mark Y. Ackerman & J. Douglas Dale, 227-238       Hot Steam Transfer Through Heat Protective Clothing Layers René Rossi, Eric Indelicato & Walter Bolli, 239-245       How Clean is Clean Enough? Maintaining Thermal Protective Clothing Under Field Conditions in the Oil and Gas Sector Elizabeth M. Crown, Aifen Feng & Xia Xu, 247-254       Comparison of Gravimetric and Gas Chromatographic Methods for Assessing Performance of Textile Materials Against Liquid Pesticide Penetration Anugrah Shaw & Ruchika Abbi, 255-261       The Influence of Sweating on the Heat Transmission Properties of Cold Protective Clothing Studied With a Sweating Thermal Manikin Harriet Meinander & Mari Hellsten, 263-269       A Suggested Approach to the Selection of Chemical and Biological Protective Clothing—Meeting Industry and Emergency Response Needs for Protection Against a Variety of Hazards Jeffrey O. Stull, 271-290       Thermal Manikin Measurements – Exact or Not? Hannu Anttonen, Juhani Niskanen, Harriet Meinander, Volkmar Bartels, Kalev Kuklane, Randi E. Reinertsen, Sabine Varieras & Krzysztof Sołtyński, 291-300

Comparing the Flammability of Fabrics in Accordance with EN 531 and ENV 50354
Helena Mäkinen & Suvi Sanna Mustonen

The purpose of protective clothing and other personal protective equipment (PPE) is to provide escape time, to reduce the burn injury level, and to prevent aggravation of the consequences to workers during exposure to an electric arc. In this study the flammability properties of 12 different types of flame-retardant fabrics were compared with the normally used flame spread test method (EN 532:1994) and electric arc test method (ENV 50354:2001). In the arc test at the lower testing current level of 4 kA, the requirement was passed by materials which did not pass the flame spread test. These materials contained a large amount of melting fibres, and therefore tended to shrink or melt. In order to meet the current level of 7 kA, a rather thick and heavy flame-retardant fabric is needed to pass the requirement. Lighter fabrics tended to break open in the tests. The flame retardancy of the under layer fabric is therefore important to ensure the needed protection.

Physiological Evaluation of Chemical Protective Suit Systems (CPSS) in Hot Conditions
Raija Ilmarinen, Harri Lindholm, Kari Koivistoinen & Petteri Helistén

This job-related experiment investigated physiological strain in subjects wearing impermeable chemical protective suit systems (CPSSs) weighing about 28 kg. Two types of CPSSs were studied: the self-contained breathing apparatus was carried either inside or outside the suit. Eight healthy and physically fit male firefighter instructors aged 32 to 45 years volunteered for the study. The test drill, performed at a dry, windless t_a of 40 °C, was divided into 2 consecutive work sessions of 14.5 min (a 20-min rest between) including typical operational work tasks. Considerable thermal and maximal cardiovascular strain and intense subjective discomfort measured in the firefighters emphasize the need to limit working time in hot conditions to only 10–12 min while wearing CPSSs. The present results indicate that the exceptionally heavy physical load and psychological stress during operations in chemical emergencies must be considered in the assessment of the cardiovascular capacity of ageing firefighters using CPSSs.

Moisture Effects in Heat Transfer Through Clothing Systems for Wildland Firefighters
Lelia K. Lawson, Elizabeth M. Crown, Mark Y. Ackerman & J. Douglas Dale

Wildland firefighters work in unfavourable environments involving both heat and moisture. Moisture in clothing systems worn by wildland firefighters may increase or decrease heat transfer, depending on its source and location in the clothing system, location on the body, timing of application and degree of sorption. In this experiment, 4 outerwear/underwear combinations were exposed to 1 of 5 different conditions varying on amount and location of moisture. The fabric systems were then exposed to either a high-heat-flux flame exposure (83 kW/m²) or a low-heat-flux radiant exposure (10 kW/m²).
Under high-heat-flux flame exposures, external moisture tended to decrease heat transfer through the fabric systems, while internal moisture tended to increase heat transfer. Under low-heat-flux radiant exposures, internal moisture decreased heat transfer through the fabric systems. The nature and extent of such differences was fabric dependent. Implications for test protocol development are discussed.

Hot Steam Transfer Through Heat Protective Clothing Layers
René Rossi, Eric Indelicato & Walter Bolli

The aim of this study was to analyse the transfer of steam through different types of textile layers as a function of sample parameters such as thickness and permeability. In order to simulate the human body, a cylinder releasing defined amounts of moisture was also used. The influence of sweating on heat and mass transfer was assessed.
The results show that in general impermeable materials offer better protection against hot steam than semi-permeable ones. The transfer of steam depended on the water vapour permeability of the samples, but also on their thermal insulation and their thickness. Increasing the thickness of the samples with a spacer gave a larger increase in protection with the impermeable samples compared to semi-permeable materials. Measurements with pre-wetted samples showed a reduction in steam protection in any case. On the other hand, the measurements with a sweating cylinder showed a beneficial effect of sweating.

How Clean is Clean Enough? Maintaining Thermal Protective Clothing Under Field Conditions in the Oil and Gas Sector
Elizabeth M. Crown, Aifen Feng & Xia Xu

The purpose of this research was to develop practical care procedures to help maintain the protective quality of flame resistant workwear laundered by workers in the field. Based on observed field conditions, experiments were conducted that simulated domestic laundry procedures. The first experiment involved two flame resistant (FR) fabrics, contaminated or not contaminated with oil. Independent variables also included detergent type and laundry pre-treatment. Other laundry parameters were controlled. Results indicated that it is easier to maintain the FR performance of the FR-treated blend than it is for the aramid fabric. It is hypothesized that energy generated by initial ignition of oil on the specimens triggers the FR mechanism of the treatment, which in turn inhibits further combustion. A second experiment using larger specimens and a domestic washing machine also supported the hypothesized mechanism.

Comparison of Gravimetric and Gas Chromatographic Methods for Assessing Performance of Textile Materials Against Liquid Pesticide Penetration
Anugrah Shaw & Ruchika Abbi

Penetration of liquid pesticides through textile materials is a criterion for determining the performance of protective clothing used by pesticide handlers. The pipette method is frequently used to apply liquid pesticides onto textile materials to measure penetration. Typically, analytical techniques such as gas chromatography (GC) are used to measure percentage penetration. These techniques are labor intensive and costly. A simpler gravimetric method was developed, and tests were conducted to compare the gravimetric and GC methods of analysis. Three types of pesticide formulations and 4 fabrics were used for the study. Diluted pesticide formulations were pipetted onto the test specimens and percentage penetration was measured using the 2 methods. For homogeneous formulation, the results of the 2 methods were fairly comparable. However, due to the filtering action of the textile materials, there were differences in the percentage penetration between the 2 methods for formulations that were not homogeneous.

The Influence of Sweating on the Heat Transmission Properties of Cold Protective Clothing Studied With a Sweating Thermal Manikin
Harriet Meinander & Mari Hellsten

One of the objectives of the European SUBZERO project was to study the influence of sweat evaporation and condensation on the heat transmission properties of cold protective clothing. With the sweating thermal manikin Coppelius, water vapour transfer through and water condensation in the clothing can be determined simultaneously with the thermal insulation. In this study, 4 cold protective ensembles, intended for use temperatures between 0 and –50 °C, were measured with the dry manikin and at 2 different sweating rates. In addition, the ensembles were measured with non-sweating thermal manikins and in wear trials.

A Suggested Approach to the Selection of Chemical and Biological Protective Clothing—Meeting Industry and Emergency Response Needs for Protection Against a Variety of Hazards
Jeffrey O. Stull

The paper describes the development of a comprehensive decision logic for selection and use of biological and chemical protective clothing (BCPC). The decision logic recognizes the separate areas of BCPC use among emergency, biological, and chemical hazards. The proposed decision logic provides a system for type classifying BCPC in terms of its compliance with existing standards (for emergency applications), the overall clothing integrity, and the material barrier performance. Type classification is offered for garments, gloves, footwear, and eye/face protection devices. On the basis of multiple, but simply designed flowcharts, the type of BCPC appropriate for specific biological and chemical hazards can be selected. The decision logic also provides supplemental considerations for choosing appropriate BCPC features.

Thermal Manikin Measurements – Exact or Not?
Hannu Anttonen, Juhani Niskanen, Harriet Meinander, Volkmar Bartels, Kalev Kuklane, Randi E. Reinertsen, Sabine Varieras & Krzysztof Sołtyński

According to the European prestandard ENV 342:1998 [1], the thermal insulation of cold-protective clothing is measured with a thermal manikin. Systematic studies on the reproducibility of the values, measured with different types of clothing on the commonly used standing and walking manikins, have not been reported in the literature. Over 300 measurements were done in 8 different European laboratories. The reproducibility of the thermal insulation test results was good. The coefficient of variation was lower than 8%. The measured clothing should fit the manikin precisely, because poorly fitting clothing gave an error in the results. The correlation between parallel and serial insulation values was excellent and parallel values were about 20% lower than serial ones. The influence of ambient conditions was critical only in the case of air velocity. The reproducibility of thermal insulation test results in a single laboratory was good, and the variation was lower than 3%.