Canadian Occupational Safety

JUNE/JULY 2018 23 protection, while it maintains fire resistance," says Hillmer. It is designed to be work over an FR garment. "Now, technology has moved along in this, and there has been a huge improvement in garments that offer the chemical protection that people need but still maintain all the features and benefits of their thermally protective garments," he says. Another kind of FR/CP product is called a "single skin," designed to be worn alone, says Hillmer. The garment is made by directly laminating a thermally protective fabric with a chemical barrier film. "If I'm working in an environment where I have to wear a Nomex coverall, I go in during the day, I put on my Nomex coverall and I start my work day. Now — and this is another reason I like the two-garment system — if I have a job that requires chemical protection, as well as my FR protection, I just get my Pyrolon garment, I pull it on over top and I go back and do my job," he says. "If I decide I want to go to single skin, I go and I take off my Nomex coverall and pull on this other expensive garment and I go do my work. And when I'm finished, I take that expensive garment off and put my Nomex garment back on." Hillmer believes the dual protective FR/CP gar- ment is preferable, from both a safety and cost perspective, to the single skin garment. "The best friend somebody has when they are in a flash fire is insulation from air. When you layer a garment, you get better protection because there's a layer of air trapped in between each of the layers. When you have single skin, you don't get as good a flame protection as you do with layering garments." DuPont has also recently introduced a new FR/CP safety suit designed to provide an effective barrier against a wide range of chemicals, including many inorganic acids and bases and industrial cleaning chemicals. At the same time, the coveralls, which are designed to be worn in refineries, petrochemical plants, laboratories and some hazardous mainte- nance operations, can maintain secondary flame resistance. In the event of a flash fire, the coveralls do not ignite and so act to prevent the spread of burn injury when worn over standard FR garments. In laboratories, workers generally wear one of two things to protect themselves: a plain poly-cotton lab coat or a two-piece system where a secondary item, such as a rubberized apron or disposable lab coat, is put on over a flame-resistant lab coat. One of the main problems with the two-layer system is that workers are often reluctant to wear the secondary protective piece, says Mark Saner, techni- cal services manager at Oxnard, Calif.-based Workrite Uniform Company. Workers who have performed a certain kind of experiment for many years tend to think they don't need to go to the trouble of getting and putting on the extra layer. "That's when accidents happen and they wish they had put it on," Saner says. On other occasions, workers may be so focused on their work that they simply forget to put on the chemical apron or they just don't want to wear it because it's inconve- nient or uncomfortable. Moreover, as with the chemical suits worn by industrial workers, the second layer — such as a disposable chemical- resistant coat — may not be flame resistant. "So, if there's a flash of some sort and it ignites, even though you're wearing a flame- resistant garment underneath, you're still going to get burned because that outer gar- ment is on fire. The outermost layer in a flammable situation always has to be the flame-resistant layer," he says. A relatively new material being used to manufacture lab coats is designed to provide protection against both the chemical and fire hazards that lab workers are often exposed to, Saner says. The base fabric of the Workrite FR/CP lab coat is a Nomex blend. A treat- ment applied to the fabric gives it its ability to repel many common acids and corrosives used in labs. "The key to it is, it's not like a barrier suit; it's not impermeable totally. It's for that inad- vertent, accidental-type splash situation. You don't want to splash some acid or a corrosive substance onto your skin," he says. "This lab coat gives you a little better protection than just having on a plain lab coat or plain woven gar- ment that would not give any resistance to repelling any of those liquid chemicals." Investigators looking into the chemical fire that killed Sangji concluded there had been systemic safety failures at the laboratory. The lab had been cited for safety problems in the past and there were earlier incidents in which two students had been seriously burned. They also found Sangji had not been trained properly and had not been issued a lab coat. The chemistry professor who had hired her was charged with four felony labour code violations. The case led to the first criminal prosecution of an American academic for a lab accident. Almost six years after Sangji's death, the case ended in a settlement that allowed the professor to avoid a guilty plea and criminal penalties. Her sister, who called the settlement "barely a slap on the wrist for the responsible individual," also told the court on the last day of the trial: "We can only hope that other young individuals are better pro- tected in the future." Linda Johnson is a freelance journalist based in Toronto who has been writing for COS for seven years. PROTECTIVE BARRIER: Without doubt, this is the most important consideration in the selection process. The material from which the suit is made must be proven to offer protection against all the hazardous substances to which the wearer could be exposed to. QUALITY: In addition to the quality of the garment's material, the quality of garment manufacturing also plays a vital role in the overall level of protection. The finishing and quality of material of each protective garment should be checked during the manufacturing process. Buyers should bear the following criteria in mind: seam tightness and strength, sizing, applied quality control and garment guarantees by the manufacturer. DURABILITY: Many applications require mechanical strength. Therefore, it is recommended to test how the material behaves in contact with abrasive surfaces. Only intact material can act as a barrier. DESIGN: A good fit ensures that a protective suit provides the wearer with both comfort and adequate protection. Poorly fitting garments run a higher risk of tearing and restrict movement, which can affect the wearer's ability to carry out work safely and efficiently. Source: DuPont When evaluating the qualities of a suit for a particular job, industrial safety and economic factors both play an important role in the final decision. TIPS FOR SAFE SELECTION Now, technology has moved along in this, and there has been a huge improvement in garments that offer the chemical protection that people need but still maintain all the features and benefits of their thermally protective garments. Canadian Safety Reporter is an essential resource for the creation of a safe workplace. This monthly newsletter illustrates techniques and strategies on how to keep the workplace safe from hazards and in full compliance with the latest legislation. Learn the practical knowledge and skills to confidently lead and manage your employees, ensure uniformity and consistency in day-to-day operations and provide the framework for business planning. WORKPLACE SAFETY IS A CHEAP YET EFFECTIVE INSURANCE POLICY To order your subscription call 1.800.387.5164 | 416.609.3800 www.safety-reporter.com/subscribe Subscribe today for only $139 Order No. 20208-18

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