Construction materials:

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• Construction materials

• TyvekTM
• SaranexTM
• ChemrelTM
• nitrile

• neoprene
• PVC
• CPE
• butyl

Not designed for use in flammable atmospheres
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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• Fabric limitations

• PVA is soluble in water
• neoprene reacts with acids
• viton reacts with some hydrocarbons
• duct tape reacts with oxidizers

Not designed for use in flammable atmospheres
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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• Remember If a fabric is not compatible with a
  given chemical, it will not protect the wearer
  from contact with that chemical

Always check manufacturers compatibility charts
before using!
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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• Three terms common to the protective clothing
  industry relative to the degree of chemical
  resistance
• permeation
• penetration
• degradation

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• Permeation is the term used to describe a
  chemical's ability to actually work its way
  through the fabric on a molecular level

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• Different fabrics have different resistance to
  chemical permeation and all will absorb
  chemicals, although at widely varying rates

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• Penetration is the term used to describe a
  chemicals ability to leak through openings in the
  garment, such as a zipper

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• It is important to remember to secure sleeves and
  pant legs over gloves and boots ...to prevent
  liquids from draining into boots or gloves

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• This should be done using adjustable Velcro
  straps, not duct tape

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• Some chemicals may actually dissolve, cause to
  turn brittle, swell, or crack a fabric
• This is referred to as degradation

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
Degradation

• can be caused from ultraviolet light
• is a visible process
• increases the rates of permeation and penetration

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• Abrasion can cause breaching of a protective suit
  under routine conditions - stay off your knees!

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• There are three types of chemical protective
  clothing
• fully-encapsulating suits
• non-encapsulating suits
• aprons

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
Fully-encapsulating Suits

• One-piece garments which provide chemical
  protection for the entire body
• Boots and gloves may be an integral part of the
  suit attached, yet replaceable or separate

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
Fully-encapsulating Suits

• These suits require the use of an SCBA or SAR
  with an escape bottle
• They are intended to provide an integrated,
  sealed "micro-environment" which cannot be
  entered by a contaminant

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
Non-encapsulating Suits

• Commonly consist of a two-piece or a one-piece
  coverall
• They are frequently used when gas-tight body
  protection is not required

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
Non-encapsulating Suits

• Provide excellent protection against splashes,
  dust, and other materials which cannot migrate
  between the overlaps of the various layers
• Note Velcro bands

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
Aprons

• Many operations may focus on the primary
  exposure of the worker to the chest and forearms

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• Sleeved aprons, when worn with disposable gloves
  or worn with overgloves, can be quite useful when
  the possibility of total body contact is small

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
Limitations

• CPE is a necessity for all hazardous materials
  work
• While CPE affords the worker protection from the
  chemical hazards in the work site, it may also
  increase the risk of other hazards

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• induces thermal stress
• restricts users movement
• restricts users vision
• restricts users hearing
• interferes with communications
• increases claustrophobia
• provides no thermal protection
• requires constant inspection

LIMITATIONS
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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
1) induces thermal stress

• Heat-related illness
• is the major problem associated with protective
  clothing usage
• may include heat rash, heat cramps, heat stress,
  heat exhaustion, and heat stroke

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• Cooling the entry and back-up teams prior to
  entry can help to prevent heat-related illness
• REMEMBER to hydrate prior to suiting up!

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• Cold-related illness is a problem that can be
  associated with protective clothing usage in
  excessively cold environments and using unheated
  water during decon

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
2) restricts users movement

• Decreased worker agility can be a major problem
  on some operations

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• A worker loses a great deal of agility when
  wearing some protective equipment

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• Tasks requiring good hand agility are very
  difficult (if not impossible) when wearing
  protective gloves
• Additionally, workers are often required to wear
  more than one pair of gloves

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective

• Workers have a decreased sense of balance,
  requiring extra time for completion of simple
  tasks

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
3) restricts users vision

• Workers wearing protective suits and SCBA have a
  decreased field of vision

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
4) restricts users hearing

• Hoods, breathing apparatus, and hearing
  protectors decrease the worker's ability to hear

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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
This can interfere with communication and present
increased risks as with decreased vision
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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
5) restricts communications
Communication may be very difficult when wearing
protective equipment such as encapsulating suits
and SCBAs
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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
Special radios may be necessary Communication
systems are available which are integrated
directly into the protective suit or breathing
apparatus
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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
6) increases claustrophobia
Some workers suffer from claustrophobia when
subjected to wearing CPE such as fully
encapsulating suits or respirators
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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
7) provides no thermal protection
Most chemical protective suits are not designed
to protect the wearer against flames or radiant
heat
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Protective Clothing Classes Chemical Protective
8) requires constant inspection
If a good inspection and maintenance program is
not a part of the overall CPE program there may
be unnecessary worker exposures
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Protective Clothing EPA Levels of Protection
Level A
Level B
Level C
Level D
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Protective Clothing EPA Levels of Protection
The federal EPA has established four levels of
protection for reference when working with
hazardous materials, identified as levels A, B,
C, and D Level A offers the greatest protection
and Level D the least protection
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Protective Clothing EPA Levels of Protection
Level A protection must be used when the greatest
level of skin, respiratory, and eye protection is
needed, such as repairing a toxic gas leak
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Protective Clothing EPA Levels of Protection
NIOSH Approved full-face SCBA or SAR with escape
bottle Chemical-resistant inner outer gloves
Two-way radio Fully-encapsulating
suit Chemical-resistant outer boots with steel
toe shank
Level A
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Protective Clothing EPA Levels of Protection
Level B is used when the highest level of
respiratory protection is necessary, but a lesser
level of skin protection is needed
Level B
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Protective Clothing EPA Levels of Protection
B
Level B protection is the minimum level
recommended for initial site entry when
contaminants and concentrations are totally
unknown
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Protective Clothing EPA Levels of Protection
Two-way radio Hooded chemical-resistant
clothing Chemical-resistant outer boots with
steel toe shank
NIOSH Approved full-face SCBA OR SAR with escape
bottle Chemical-resistant inner outer gloves
Level B
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Protective Clothing EPA Levels of Protection
Level C does not require maximum skin or
respiratory protection, and is the only level
where APRs may be used (if sufficient protection
is afforded by APRs)
Level C
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Protective Clothing EPA Levels of Protection
Level C is used when atmospheric contaminants,
liquid splashes, or other direct contact with the
substance will not adversely affect or be
absorbed by any exposed skin
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Protective Clothing EPA Levels of Protection
C

• Use of Level C presumes that
• the types of air contaminants have been
  identified
• their concentrations have been measured
• atmosphere contains at least 19.5 oxygen
• an approved compatible APR is available that can
  remove the contaminants

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Protective Clothing EPA Levels of Protection
NIOSH Approved air-purifying respirator
Hooded chemical-resistant clothing
Chemical-resistant inner outer gloves
Chemical-resistant outer boots with steel toe
shank
Level C
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Protective Clothing EPA Levels of Protection
Level D is used when special respiratory or skin
protection is not necessary
Level D
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Protective Clothing EPA Levels of Protection
D
Level D comprised of a work uniform affording
only minimal protection, and is used to guard
against nuisance contamination only You may use
Level D protection only when work functions rule
out the possibility of splashes, immersion, or
the potential for unexpected inhalation of, or
contact with, hazardous levels of any chemicals
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Protective Clothing EPA Levels of Protection
Coveralls or work uniform
Chemical-resistant boots with steel toe shank
Level D
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Protective Clothing Classification of Firefighter
Clothing

?
HazMat incidents almost always involve
firefighters, yet structural firefighter
protective clothing is not designed to protect
the wearer against chemicals
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Protective Clothing Permissible Use

• Choose the proper PPE for each situation
• Training is mandatory using the PPE before
  working in it
• Follow the manufacturers recommendations

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Review

• the 3 principles of protection
• the 3 types of respiratory protection
• the 3 classes of protective clothing
• the 4 EPA levels of protection

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Summary
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ApplicationStep