How to Select Chemical Protective Clothing

Workers must wear the appropriate protective clothing for each application when they are uncovered to chemicals. However there are many things to consider while selecting the right PPE against hazardous chemicals. Since the lack of protective knowledge, the chemicals are hard to understand, and many different products in the market, the employers may choose the wrong protective suit easily.

To make the best use of the suit in different scenarios, you can follow the 3 principles below:

Qualified Garments

First, make sure the protective coverall you wear is a certified product. Protective clothing is one of the most important Personal Protective Equipment during work. Different countries have different regulatory requirements, so you should understand which standard your supplier follows. Don’t purchase an uncertified product which will make the workers in a dangerous situation.

The most observed rule for disposable coverall is the CE standard. The CE standard have different requirements to physical and chemical performance, which include the material characteristics, design requirements, waterproof ability, tear and stretch and the overall performance. The different definition indicate different standard, Therefore, PPE products are classified in different risk categories as specified in the PPE Directive 89/686/EEC. Depending on the category, different assessment of conformity procedures must be followed.

Chemical Risk Evaluation

Some chemicals do very little harm, but most industrial chemicals during work can cause serious damage to the skin. Choosing the right protective clothing can effectively prevent such things from happening. That’s why we need to do chemical risk evaluation. It can be used to determine what kind of personal protection should be applied to different chemicals.

How to do risk assessment? First, knowing the working process and find out what chemicals may touch; Second, make sure the the time of exposure. Third, select an appropriate design, such as a one-piece coverall or two-piece, hooded or not, knitted cuff or elastic cuff. Finally, you can select the appropriate protective clothing according to the above points.

Permeation Data

When dealing with a chemically associated work, the most vital element is that the material of protective clothing can prevent chemical permeation. Permeation refers to the penetration of chemicals substances that sipped via the barrier and get in touch with the wearer’s skin.

Breakthrough Time is the most important factor, the minimum requirement is that the breakthrough time should be longer than the duration of the expected working time.