Chemical Engineering March 2011 - 61

DuPont
Solids Processing
Environmental Manager
Chemical
Protective Clothing
ISO 16602 offers a much-needed,
common global language for expressing
protective clothing performance
Susan Lovasic, DuPont
C
hemical protective garments
are available in a wide variety
of fabrics and designs that
provide varying levels of protection
for chemical process industries
(CPI) workers, who may be exposed to
chemicals in the form of vapors, liquids
and particles. While other forms
of personal protective equipment -
such as safety glasses and hard hats
- are highly regulated in the U.S. and
Canada, the performance of chemical
protective clothing is not. An international
standard for classifying chemical-protective-clothing
performance,
however, is available in ISO 16602. The
ISO 16602 Standard ( " Protective clothing
for protection against chemicals
- Classification, labelling and performance
requirements " ) provides an
objective system to appropriately test,
classify and label chemical-protectiveapparel
products.
This article shows
how ISO 16602 can be used as a tool to
help with the selection of appropriate
chemical protective clothing by providing
an objective means of defining the
performance of chemical protective apparel
in situations involving potential
exposure to chemical hazards.
Since, in North America, chemical
protective clothing is not assessed by
a comprehensive standard that quantifies
the performance of garments,
safety and health professionals selecting
chemical protective clothing can
only rely upon manufacturers' claims
to choose the appropriate garments.
Unfortunately,
chemical protective clothing can vary
by manufacturer and there is no established
means to compare the performance
of the various garments on the
market. There is also no standard lanthe
performance of
guage in place that describes either the
overall performance of the protective
ensemble or the performance of the
individual components against types
of different chemical hazards. While
some standards do exist for hazardous
materials (Hazmat) emergencies, little
regulation exists regarding routine industrial
workplace applications. This
void in recognized standards for everyday,
industrial-use chemical protective
clothing can lead to confusion and uncertainty
for the safety professionals
who must select the appropriate apparel
for a given hazard or application.
Established by the International Organization
for Standardization (ISO),
the requirements outlined in ISO
16602 provide a common language for
the performance of chemical protective
clothing. While ISO 16602 was introduced
fairly recently (in 2007), it is
already recognized and accepted internationally,
and is poised to become the
global language for expressing chemical-protective-clothing
performance.
By offering a common, global classification
system and a standard presentation
of the performance data,
ISO 16602 can simplify the selection of
chemical protective apparel by safety
and occupational health professionals.
Standardizing the protective clothing
performance data allows objective
evaluation and comparison of the various
garments available in the marketplace,
rather than relying solely upon
vendors' claims. Although ISO 16602
permits a range of performance levels
for a series of key properties, it also
establishes a minimum level of performance
for each major type of hazard.
ISO 16602 defines performance requirements
based on results obtained
from existing test-method standards.
Many companies are multinational
and do not have access to the same
chemical protective apparel in each
location even though they may be
engaged in the same work tasks and
therefore have the same needs for
protective clothing. The ISO 16602
description of chemical-protectiveclothing
performance is vital to these
businesses as it provides a common
description that can be used to select
the appropriate, locally available
products. In addition, ISO 16602's objective
performance levels allow safety
professionals a means of identifying
and selecting higher performing garments
if a specific selection of chemical
protective clothing fails to perform
as intended in the work environment
for which it was chosen.
Clothing selection
The first, and most critical, step to
selecting appropriate chemical protective
clothing is the completion of
an accurate hazard assessment. By
identifying the task, the surroundings,
the chemical(s) and any hazards
beyond chemical exposure, a hazard
assessment provides a basis for understanding
what chemical protective
clothing and other personal protective
equipment (PPE) are necessary to protect
the workers operating in specific
situations. The environment, chemical
hazard and work activity must be
considered in order to be able to select
the most appropriate protective
clothing - including the fabric, seam
type and garment design - most suitable.
Without adequate protection
from chemical protective apparel and
proper work practices, the likelihood
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Chemical Engineering March 2011

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