Textile material contaminants

As objects of research samples of camouflage textile material with dimensions 20x50 mm were used. For contamination of the samples we used mustard agent (P,P -dichloroethyl sulphide) with a purity of 95,6 %. Contamination was accomplished with a special dropper (figure 1) resulting in a weight of the droplets of 0,5.10"6 kg and a density on the test material of 5.10"3kg/m2. 

Thus nanosilver-based textile materials have great promise in various areas, for example in hospitals to prevent wounds from contamination with microorganisms, in particular fungi and bacteria such as S. aureus. 

The increasing occurrence of microbial and nosocomial infection has stimulated research activities into antimicrobial polymers and textiles [19, 25, 34]. Most medical textiles and polymeric materials used in hospitals are conductive to crosstransmission of diseases, as most microorganisms can survive on these materials for hours to several months [17, 26]. Thus, it would be advantageous for polymeric surfaces and textile materials to exhibit antibacterial properties so as to reduce and prevent disease transmission and cross-contamination within and from hospitals. N-halamines exhibit a similar antimicrobial potency to chlorine bleach, one of the most widely used disinfectants, but they are much more stable, less corrosive and have a considerably reduced tendency to generate halogenated hydrocarbons, making them attractive candidates for the production of antimicrobial polymeric materials. N-halamine compounds are currently used as antimicrobial additives to produce polymers with antimicrobial and biofilm-limiting activities. 

In this situation, it is highly essential that textile materials used in hospitals must have the capability to eradicate/minimise cross-infection. Textiles in any form used in hospitals are susceptible to bacterial growth under appropriate moisture and temperature conditions. Patients shed bacteria and contaminate their pyjamas and sheets. The temperature and humidity between the patient and the bed are appropriate conditions allowing for effective bacterial proliferation. Several studies have found that persons in contact with contaminated textiles are the source of transmission of micro-organisms to susceptible patients. 

Dirt repellence is a desirable property for a large number of textile products used in outdoor applications. It can be obtained by finishes or coatings, although the smoothing of the textile surface by calender rolls is also known to be an effective method. For the repellence of oily contamination, silicon compounds, carboxymethyl celluloses and fluorocarbon finishes are applied to the fibres or to the textile material. 

Infrared spectroscopy (mid-IR range) has been used extensively in characterizing textile materials for both qualitative and quantitative analyses. These tests include detection of contaminants, amount of lubricants on yarn and fabrics, and information relating to the polymer structure and morphology. In this section, the use of mid-IR analysis to obtain useful infor-... 

Because medical textile materials are used in a medical environment, quite often in direct contact with the human body, it is important to ensure that these materials are sterile prior to application, that is, they are free of bacterial contamination. Sterility of the finished product is achieved in two stages first, medical textile materials are packed in appropriate packaging and second, they are sterilized with an appropriate method. 

Since it possesses good properties of both PVC plastics and polyurethane elastomers, it has been used in those areas where PVC and polyurethane have traditionally played dominant roles. For example, it is a very promising replacement for flexible PVC used for medical purposes and in the food industry [I6,l7], because it essentially eliminates the concern regarding plasticizer contamination. It has been used in combination with the copolymer of butadiene and acrylonitrile (NBR) to make the abrasion-resistant aprons and rolls used on textile machines [18]. A PVC/TPU/ABS blend serves as a substitute for leather [19]. This could have a tremendous impact on the shoe industry. It has also been found to have an application as a building coating [20,21]. This trend will certainly grow and more applications will be found. This in turn should bring new developments in the material itself. 

With some processes, the prevention of the contamination of a process stream, or a product, by certain metals, or the products of corrosion, overrides any other considerations when selecting suitable materials. For instance, in textile processes, stainless steel or aluminium is often used in preference to carbon steel, which would be quite suitable except that any slight rusting will mark the textiles (iron staining). 

In industries such as the food, pharmaceutical, biochemical, and textile industries, the surface finish of the material is as important as the choice of material, to avoid contamination. 

HBCD is a brominated aliphatic cyclic hydrocarbon used as a flame retardant in thermal insulation building materials, upholstery textiles, and electronics. In 2001, the world market demand for HBCD was 16,700 tons, from which 9,500 tons was sold in the EU. These figures make HBCD the second highest volume BFR used in Europe [29], HBCD may be used as an alternative for PBDEs in some applications. To date, there are no restrictions on the production or use of HBCD. As a result of their widespread use and their physical and chemical properties, HBCD are now ubiquitous contaminants in the environment and humans [30, 31]. 

The extensive use of phthalates as plasticizers in various materials (furniture, plastics, electronics equipment, textiles, etc.) has led to the widespread and substantial contamination of the indoor environment, e.g., air and dust [3, 96, 97]. Indoor environment and dietary intake are of special concern for the increasing... 

The surface tensions of materials prepared with are some of the lowest attainable with the reagents commonly available, which is why many carpet and textile repellents are based on the chemistry of perfluoroalkyl chains. For example, a nylon-6,6 carpet would be wetted by oily soils, which, according to Eq. (4), would be difficult to remove. The presence of a FA coating on die fiber lowers its surface tension and repels the oil contaminant. In general, a liquid dial has a high surface tension will not wet a solid with low surface tension (e.g., water on PTFE). The converse is also true. A low-surface-tension liquid will wet a high surface tension solid (e.g., hexadecane on nylon-6,6). 

While collecting and using this particulate matter to study the textile as a whole may be useful, it cannot totally replace direct sampling because particulate cannot be associated directly with particular areas of the textile. It is also possible that the particulate is contaminated with material that is not from the textile. Therefore, when studying coloration, selective sampling of particular colors or areas with different chemical signatures will still need to be done. Thereby, materials of different composition or color are kept separated and each can be analyzed by itself. 

A certain degree of flexibility must be built into the research design, because the actual conditions of the textiles and the contaminants are not known, and could have been acquired over the course of the textile s lifetime. Time is required to adjust and improvise methods and to overcome difficulties while the researcher must retain a willingness to let the data take the lead. The pursuit of clues that were not anticipated or were initially only thought to be minor might be of the utmost importance these could lead to greater knowledge about the materials. 

Even if the particulate represents a contaminant, it is useful to know the nature of that contaminant. Once the textiles are examined visually and with magnification, examination of the particulate by microscopy should be undertaken. Identifying features of the fiber or of other materials that comprise the particulate may be difficult to see, possibly because they are occluded with soil or were damaged in active use or in long-term degradation. Therefore, additional analyses might be needed. 

All kinds of building materials, furniture, textiles, computers etc. are potential sources of SVOCs/POMs and estimation of the total content in the material may be required. One reason to estimate the total or initial content is that it is an important parameter in physical based emission models for example, for phthalate emission from vinyl flooring (Clausen et al, 2007). The materials can be purchased as new, or sampled from the indoor environment under investigation. The materials should be stored in a way that preserves their content of SVOCs/POMs and prevents contamination and degradation of the materials and their content of SVOCs/POMs. The content of SVOCs/POMs in the sampled materials can be estimated by extraction (see Section 2.5.1). 

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