WET SUIT

Due to its balance of strength, oil resistance, inflammability, increased resistance to ozone, ageing and weathering, polychloroprene finds widespread industrial use. Typical uses are V-belts, conveyor belts, wire and cable jacketing, footwear, wet suit applications, coated fabrics, inflatables, hoses, extrusions and many other goods. Adhesives are also a strong market area. 

Some typical elastomers are natural rubber, which is gathered from trees, SBR rubber, which is used a lot in motorcar tires, neoprene, as in wet suits and oil seals, EPDM, a general purpose rubber, butyl, a heat-resistant rubber with the ability to keep the air in car tires, nitrile for oil seals, silicones for heat resistance, fluoro-elastomers for chemical resistance, and last but not least, polyurethanes, which cover a number of the above fields. Table 1.1 shows some of the advantages of castable polyurethanes over conventional rubbers. 

Other synthetic rubbers can be prepared by the polymerization of different 1,3-dienes usingZiegler-Natta catalysts. For example, the polymerization of 1,3-butadiene affords fZ -poly(l,3-butadiene), and the polymerization of 2-chloro-1,3-butadiene yields neoprene, a polymer used in wet suits and tires. 

Emulsion polymerization is the basis of many industrial processes, and the production volume of latex technologies is continually expanding—a consequence of the many environmental, economic, health, and safety benefits the process has over solvent-based processes. A wide range of products are synthesized by emulsion polymerization, including commodity polymers, such as polystyrene, poly(acrylates), poly (methyl methacrylate), neoprene or poly(chloroprene), poly(tetrafluoroethylene), and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). The applications include manufacture of coatings, paints, adhesives, synthetic leather, paper coatings, wet suits, natural rubber substitutes, supports for latex-based antibody diagnostic kits, etc. ... 

Tubing, rubber except extruded and lothe-cut Type, rubber Urinals, rubber Valves, hal d rubber Wainscoting, rubber Wallcoverings, rubber Weather strip, sponge rubber Water bottles, rubber Wet suits, rubber... 

Other effects are related to depth. Protective garments which rely on entrapped gas for their insulating power lose much of their effectiveness at depth because the material compresses. For example, a 1/4-inch nylon-lined wet suit compresses to about 50% of its original thickness when subjected to a pressure of 4 atm (19). In addition to reducing the insulating power of the suit, compression also reduces the buoyancy. This can cause a serious problem for the diver when a thick foam suit is used to give thermal insulation. 

Neoprene is a synthetic rubber made by polymerizing 2-chloro-l,3-butadiene in the presence of a Ziegler-Natta catalyst that causes all the double bonds in the polymer to have the trans configuration. Neoprene is used to make wet suits, shoe soles, tires, hoses, and coated fabrics. 

Where there is a potential for cold water immersion, there should be emergency rafts or other protective equipment. In some situations, workers may need insulated wet suits to complete their work if immersion is possible. There should be an emergency plan for any immersion work. 

Secretan s syndrome must be differentiated from professional traumatic complaints featuring hard, persistent and spontaneous lymph oedema, which have been described in fishermen, due to various causes and particularly to repeated trauma from sea-urchin spines and the tight cuffs of the wet-suit (Angelini et al. 1990 Angelini and Vena 1991). In these spontaneous, chronic professional cases, lymphography may show alterations of the lymph vessels. Secretan s syndrome must also be differentiated from other types of acute or chronic oedema, such as lymphatic aplasia, recurrent erysipelas, deep thrombophlebitis, angio-oedema, filariasis, venous obstruction, post-surgical disturbances, carcinoma and other tumours of the breast. 

In underwater fishermen, repeated trauma due to penetration of sea urchin spines, together with the constriction of the wrists caused by the wet suit and the low temperature of the water, can induce a different type of delayed reaction, called chronic professional traumatic lymphedema of the hands (Angelini et al. i99oa,b,c). This complaint manifests with hard, persistent edema of the back of the hands and sometimes also of the forearms (Fig. 1). This scleredema persists even many years after abandonment of this working activity and may be accompanied by lymphographic alterations of the limb involved. 

Skin afflictions from cercarias involve the epidermis because cercarias seem unable to penetrate beyond the derma. Initial itching is followed by an urticarial eruption which resolves within about 0.5 h, leaving maculae after a few hours, these transform into very itchy papules. The dermatitis resolves in 1-2 weeks. Prevention is only by individual protection, wearing overall wet suits, while environmental clean-up is required to solve the problem. Dermatitis from cere-... 

Notoriously, professional or amateur skin divers are exposed to an enormous variety of risks, including skin problems. Staphyloccocal skin infections are relatively frequent and also difficult to treat. Local burns can derive from overheating inside the wet suit. Underwater welding procedures can induce erythemas and telangiectasia. The skin trapped in the folds of the suit can present linear abrasions. 

Kerre S, Devos L, Verhoeve L, Bruze M, Gruvberger B, Dooms-Goossens A (1996) Contact allergy to diethylthiourea in a wet suit. Contact Dermatitis 35 176-178... 

In contrast to the situation with tightly adherent neoprene wet suit worn in warmer waters, those working in colder waters experience less direct contact with rubber from dry suits. Dry suits are loose on the body allowing woollen or synthetic undergarments to be worn, but form a tight seal around neck, wrists and ankles. 

Blair JR, Schatzke R, Orr KD (1967) Sequelae to cold injury in one hundred patients follow-up study four years after occurrence of cold injury. JAMA 163 1203-1208 Boehncke WH, Wessmann D, Zollner TM, et al. (1997) Allergic contact dermatitis from diphenylthiourea in a wet suit. Contact Dermatitis 36 271... 

Chemists have succeeded in making several synthetic rubbers. A general-purpose synthetic rubber is styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). SBR is a copolymer formed from monomers styrene and butadiene (Figure 15-34). Unlike many copolymers that must be combined in a 1 1 ratio, SBR can be made with varying amounts of each of its constituents. A common formulation consists of 25% styrene and 75% butadiene. SBR, cheaper than natural rubber, is used extensively to replace natural rubber in automobile tires. SBR ages better than natural rubber, but it does not have as much strength or tack (stickiness). Other synthetic rubbers include polybutadiene, used in tires and footwear, and polychloropene (neoprene), used in hoses and protective clothing such as wet suits. 

Screen printing could be used to place electrochemical sensors on fabric surfaces. For example, on Neoprene wet suits suitable sensors could detect the presence of environmental pollutants and security threats. Also electrochemical sensors printed onto fabric could directly respond to heart rate, EEG, and ECG bio-physical status. Sensors able to perform chemical analysis could instantly alert a wearer to any danger of exceeding normal healthy limits. 

Natural rubber is a polymer of isoprene, a conjugated diene. Synthetic rubbers called neoprenes are produced by the polymerization of chloroprene, a synthetic conjugated diene. Neoprene is used in many commercial products, from industrial hoses to wet suits for scuba diving and surfing. 

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