1

FLAME RESISTANT CLOTHING FOR

PROTECTION AGAINST FLASH FIRE HAZARDS

2

WHY FLAME RESISTANT PROTECTIVE CLOTHING?

IN NORTH AMERICA, THERE ARE MORE THAN 7,000 CLOTHING-RELATED WORKPLACE INJURIES EACH YEAR DUE TO FIRE.

THE MOST SEVERE BURNS ARE CAUSED BY IGNITED CLOTHING, NOT BY THE ORIGINAL FLASH FIRE.

3

WHY FLAME RESISTANT PROTECTIVE CLOTHING? (Continued)

CLOTHED AREAS CAN BE BURNED MORE SEVERELY THAN EXPOSED SKIN.

4

CLOTHED AREAS CAN BE BURNED MORESEVERELY

5

THE IMPORTANCE OF THERMAL PROTECTIVE APPAREL

Thermal Protective Apparel– Maintains a Barrier to Isolate the Wearer From

the Thermal Exposure– Traps Air Between the Wearer and the Barrier

to Provide Insulation From the Exposure– Reduces Burn Injury and Provides Escape

Time– Does Not Burn, Melt or Drip

6

THE IMPORTANCE OF THERMAL PROTECTIVE APPAREL (Continued)

Survival, Extent of Injury, Recovery, and Quality of Life Depend on Protection Provided by Thermal Protective Apparel

7

07/29/93 $ 618,301.81 $ 978,928.00 Medical = 562,677.78 250,000.00 Indemnity = 52,182.14 721,437.00 Vocational = 2,510.36 7,438.00 Expenses = 931.53 0.00

07/12/94 $ 217,128.98 $ 124,999.00 Medical = 184,572.12 124,999.00 Indemnity = 30,143.43 19,226.00 Vocational = 2,393.43 7,606.00 Expenses = 20.00 0.00

06/01/95 $ 40,682.21 $ 4,564.00 Medical = 32,707.38 4,564.00 Indemnity = 6,035.28 0.00 Vocational = 1,903.55 0.00

06/01/95 $ 12,309.92 $ 0.00 Medical = 9,213.25 0.00 Indemnity = 1,890.57 0.00 Vocational = 1,195.40 0.00

DATE OF TOTAL RESERVE ACCIDENT PAID AMOUNT

8

Flame Resistant Clothing Will Not Ignite and Continue to Burn From Exposure to Flame.

Examples of Flame Resistant Clothing Products:– Products With Flame Retardants

»FR Rayon Blends with Nomex®»Firewear® Modacrylic Cotton Blend

»Flame Retardant Treated Cotton

FLAME RESISTANT CLOTHING

9

– Inherently Flame Resistant Products»Kevlar®/PBI Blends»Nomex®/Kevlar® Blends»Nomex® IIIA

FLAME RESISTANT CLOTHING (Continued)

10

BURN INJURY PRINCIPLES

BURN DEPTH IS A MEASURE OF SEVERITY– FIRST-DEGREE: SKIN BECOMES RED,

NO BLISTER– SECOND-DEGREE: SKIN BLISTERS,

EPIDERMIS MUST REGENERATE (100-MICRON DEPTH)

11

BURN INJURY PRINCIPLES (Continued)

– THIRD-DEGREE: FULL THICKNESS DESTROYED, SKIN CANNOT REGENERATE, SCAR TISSUE FORMS (1,000-MICRON DEPTH)

EXPOSURE TO AN ELECTRIC ARC OR FLAME CAN RAPIDLY EXCEED HUMAN TISSUE TOLERANCE AND CAUSE SECOND- OR THIRD-DEGREE BURNS

12

CHANCES OF SURVIVALFROM BURN INJURY

C

han

ceof

Su

rviv

al, %

Source: American Burn Association (1991-1993 Study)

0

20

40

60

100

Age Range, Years

25% Body Burn

20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59

80 50% Body Burn

75% Body Burn

13

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD FLASHFIRE TEST

Realistic Exposure Conditions That Simulate Real Life Hazards– Exposures Like Real Flash Fires – Fabric Sample Configuration Like

Clothing on a Human Body

14

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD FLASHFIRE TEST (Continued)

Meaningful Results– Clear Direction on Clothing Choices– Clear Differences Between Materials

Reproducible– Test to Test, Lab to Lab

Flash Fire Manikin Test Provides an Excellent Match for These Characteristics

15

EXPOSURE ENERGY

Exposure Energy is Expressed in Cal/Cm2

Copper Calorimeters Are Used to Measure Exposure Energy

1 Cal/Cm2 Is Equivalent to the Energy Produced by a Cigarette Lighter in One Second

An Exposure Energy of One or Two Cal/Cm2 Will Cause a Second-Degree Burn on Human Skin

16

EXPOSURE ENERGY (Continued)

Heat Flux Is the “Flow Rate” of Energy Onto a Surface

Exposure Energy = Heat Flux X Exposure Time

Typical Values for Industrial Flash Fire:– Heat Flux 1-4 Cal/Cm2-Sec.– Exposure Times 1-5 Sec.– Exposure Energies 1-20 Cal/Cm2

17

EXAMPLES OF ESTIMATED TOTAL INCIDENT ENERGY OF VARIOUS

HAZARDS

EXAMPLES OF

EXPOSURE ENERGY.

HAZARD WAS DETERMINED

FROM DAMAGED GARMENTS IN THESE

INCIDENTS.

Exposure Description

Garment of Nomex® Aramid

Fiber

Estimated TotalExposure Energy,

cal/cm2

Oil Well - Flash Fire Coveralls 4

Brush Fire Shirt 12

Backdraft from Gas Line Leak Turnout Coat 7

Solvent Vapor - Flash-Over/Paint Shop Turnout Coat 16

Apartment Building Fire Turnout Coat 19

13.2 kV System ElectricArc Underground Vault Coveralls 35

4.8 kV System ElectricPhase to Ground Arc Shirt 20

18

THERMO-MANNomex® Coverall

®

19

MANIKIN TESTING

Realistic Flash Fire Exposure Conditions– Controllable Heat Flux and Exposure Time– Results Reflect Actual Industrial Exposures

Full Size Instrumented Manikin With 122 Thermal Sensors Measures Heat Transfer Through Garment

Amount, Degree, and Location of Predicted Burn Injury Calculated From Sensor Data

20

MANIKIN TESTING (Continued)

Bottom Line: Provides a Prediction of Burn Injury for Specific Garment Over a Full Range of Flash Fires

21

THERMO-MAN

Nomex® Coverall Initial Torch Ignition

®

22

THERMO-MAN Nomex® Coverall Full Flash Fire Exposure 2 cal/cm sec2

®

23

THERMO-MAN Nomex® Coverall After Torches Extinguish

®

24

THERMO-MAN® EVALUATION

Conditions

5X HomeLaunderings

100% CottonUnderwear

Heat Flux of2 cal/cm2 sec

Average of3 Data Points P

red

icte

d B

od

y B

urn

In

jury

, %

Nomex® IIIA (7.5

oz/yd2)

Nomex® IIIA (4.5 oz/yd2)

Nomex ® IIIA (6.1 oz/yd2 )

25

THERMO-MAN Flammable Coverall Full Flash Fire Exposure

®

26

THERMO-MAN Flammable Coverall Continues Burning After Torches Extinguish

®

27

THERMO-MAN® SIMULATED FLASH FIRE EVALUATION

Conditions

5X HomeLaunderings

100% CottonUnderwear

Heat Flux of2 cal/cm2 sec

Average of3 Data Points

Data AcquisitionTime 60 sec.

Pre

dic

ted

Bod

y B

urn

In

jury

, %

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0

Exposure Time, Sec.

100% Untreated Cotton (5.7 oz/yd2)

Nomex® IIIA (6.1 oz/yd2 )

28

THERMO-MAN® EVALUATION

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0

Exposure Time, Sec.

Conditions

5X HomeLaunderings

100% CottonUnderwear

Heat Flux of2 cal/cm2 sec

Average of3 Data Points P

red

icte

d B

od

y B

urn

In

jury

, %

Nomex® IIIA (6.1 oz/yd2)

100% Untreated Cotton (5.7 oz/yd2)

Firewear® (6.1 oz/yd2)

Firewear® (10.2 oz/yd2)

29

THERMO-MAN® EVALUATION

Conditions

5X HomeLaunderings

100% CottonUnderwear

Heat Flux of2 cal/cm2 sec

Average of3 Data Points P

red

icte

d B

ody

Bu

rn I

nju

ry, %

100% Untreated Cotton (5.7 oz/yd2)

“Indura” FRT Cotton (6.1 oz/ yd2)

“Indura” FRT Cotton (10.2 oz/ yd2)

Nomex IIIA® (4.5 oz/ yd2)

Nomex IIIA® (6.1 oz/ yd2)

30

THERMO-MAN® EVALUATION

Conditions

5X HomeLaunderings

100% CottonUnderwear

Heat Flux of2 cal/cm2 sec

Average of3 Data Points P

red

icte

d B

ody

Bu

rn I

nju

ry, %

100% Untreated Cotton (5.7 oz/yd2)

Banwear

(11.5 oz/y

d2 )

Banwear (7.7 oz/yd2)

Nomex® IIIA

(6.1 oz/yd2)

31

ESTIMATED THERMO-MAN® PREDICTED BURN INJURY FOR STATION UNIFORMS/TURNOUT

SYSTEMS

NO

ME

X®

IIIA

S

TA

TIO

N

UN

IFO

RM

W/

UN

DE

RW

EA

R

PO

LY

/CO

TT

ON

OR

CO

TT

ON

ST

AT

ION

U

NIF

OR

M W

ITH

U

ND

ER

WE

AR

NO

ME

X®

III

A

S

TA

TIO

N

UN

IFO

RM

W

/UN

DE

RW

EA

R

NO

ME

X O

ME

GA

® T

UR

NO

UT

S

YS

TE

M

EXPOSURE TIME, SECONDS

PR

ED

ICT

ED

BO

DY

BU

RN

INJU

RY

. %

32

FLAME-RESISTANT CLOTHING SYSTEM COMMON SENSE

GUIDELINES Proper Wearing Procedures

– Protective Clothing Selection Must Be Based on the Probable Worst Case Exposure for a Task.

– Flame-Resistant Workwear Should Provide a Good Functional Fit for Protection and Comfort. Loose Fitting Clothing Provides Additional Thermal Protection Due to Increased Air Spaces.

33

FLAME-RESISTANT CLOTHING SYSTEM COMMON SENSE GUIDELINES (Continued)

– Sleeves, Shirt, and Outerwear Should Be Fully Buttoned.

– Appropriate Protective Neck, Face, Head, Hand, and Foot Coverings Should Be Worn.

34

FLAME-RESISTANT CLOTHING SYSTEM COMMON SENSE GUIDELINES (Continued)

Outerwear Must be Flame Resistant – Flammable Outerwear Can Ignite and

Continue to Burn Essentially Eliminating the Protection of Flame Resistant Clothing Worn Underneath

35

FLAME-RESISTANT CLOTHING SYSTEM COMMON SENSE GUIDELINES (Continued)

– An Ignited Flammable Outer Garment Creates a Heat Source Close to the Skin, e.g., A Nylon Wind Breaker Worn Over an Flame Resistant Coverall. Although the Flame-Resistant Coverall Will Not Burn, the Wearer Can Be Burned by the Additional Heat Transfer From the Ignition of the Flammable Outerlayer.

36

FLAME-RESISTANT CLOTHING SYSTEM COMMON SENSE GUIDELINES (Continued)

Under Garments (Underwear Worn Against the Skin) Should be Non-Melting– Non-Melting Undergarments, I.E., Cotton,

Wool, Silk, Rayon, Can Be Worn to Increase Thermal Insulation and Protection.

– Meltable Undergarments Can Increase Burn Injury Severity Due to Melt Adhesion to the Skin.