Chemical-protective clothing, polymer

Selection of polymers used in the manufacture of chemical protective clothing (CPC) is a complex task. It involves evaluating breakthrough times and permeation rates in conjunction with such task requirements as tactility and resistance to cuts and abrasion. But, it involves a more basic problem — that of deciding which polymer(s), in the absence of test data, might be most likely to resist permeation by a specific chemical. These decisions are faced not only by users of CPC (e.g., industrial hygienists), but also by poljnner chemists and CPC manufacturers. 

Sloau JM, Napadensky E, Crawford DM aud Elabd YA (2005), Nauostructured polymer membranes for chemical protective clothing. Proceedings for the Army Science Conference (24th), 29 November-2 December 2005, Orlando, Florida, USA. 

Nevertheless, professional industrial hygienists are called upon routinely to select protective clothing that will provide an adequate, if not absolute, level of protection, even when permeation data are not available for a specific chemical/polymer combination. Their task is formidable. It is also a task that can be performed more easily with the assistance of an expert system. 

The personal security of our citizens also benefits directly from science and technology. Our police forces are equipped with light, strong bulletproof vests made of modem synthetic materials, and fire rescue personnel wear protective clothing made from temperature-resistant polymers. The smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in our homes are based on chemical processes that detect dangerous substances. Personal security is enhanced in the broadest sense by water purification and by the chemical testing procedures that assure us of clean water and food. 

PERSONAL PROTECTION wear full protective clothing and chemical-resistant gloves constructed from tetrafluoroethylene polymer wear chemical safety goggles wear self-contained breathing apparatus. 

Materials such as butyl, halogenated butyl rubber, neoprene and some sulfonated polymer such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), are widely used to make impermeable barrier membrane. One type of impermeable chemical protective garment (e.g.,Tychem series clothing ) made of a single impermeable laminated fabric to protect against the diffusion of chemical hazards. The laminated fabric consists of multiple sheets of different materials to protect against the penetration of chemical liquids. ... 

A class of polymers recognized for their excellent thermal and chemical stability, PBIs have historically been spun into fibers and woven into thermal protective clothing. In the past decade, PBIs have been cast into membranes and incorporated into fuel cells. 

Despite these severe restrictions the polymer has been available on a developmental scale from the Thiokol Corporation and has found speciality uses in the United States space programme and in protective clothing because of its non-inflammability and chemical resistance. 

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