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No single protective material will protect against all chemicals for all situations. The best
course of action is to test the primary protective garment materials against the specific
chemical hazard, at the temperature and in the concentrations to be encountered. DuPont
will provide free swatches of primary garment materials for testing and can provide you
with a list of testing facilities.
Static Electricity
Under certain conditions, such as cold and dry weather, it is possible that garments might
build and discharge static electricity. Discharges are not normally dangerous except in
situations where the generation of an electrical spark could ignite a flammable
atmosphere or startle the wearer. When operating around flammable chemicals, take steps
to eliminate potential static discharges. In these situations, recommended steps include,
but not limited to, water spray, the use of an overcover, raising humidity level of the
work area, use of a commercial, anti-static application coating, grounding straps on
equipment and personnel, inherently static-dissipating under- and over-garments, and
testing of the worker’s static dissipation before entry into the classified area.
However, in the case of explosive or flammable atmospheres, even if sophisticated and
elaborate steps are taken to manage static formation and dissipate static charge, the risk
of severe injury remains if an uncontrolled or accidental ignition occurs. You should not
wear Tychem
®
chemical protective garments in potentially flammable or explosive
atmospheres. You should not knowingly enter an environment in which the
concentration of flammable gas is within flammable or explosive limits while wearing a
Tychem
®
garment, including Tychem
®
ThermoPro. Should you determine that you are
in a potentially flammable or explosive environment while wearing a Tychem
®
garment,
including Tychem
®
ThermoPro, you should retreat immediately.
Avoid Exothermic Reactions
Certain chemicals produce a large amount of heat when they react with water. If your
garment is heavily contaminated with a
water-reactive chemical, there is a possibility that
the garment may be damaged during field decontamination from the high reactive heat.
The excess chemical should be removed with dry sand or non-reactive absorbent before
water decontamination.
Avoid Continuous Exposure
Tychem
®
garments should not be immersed in chemicals. These garments should not be
exposed to continuous hazardous liquid chemical splash or deluge. Do not wade through
liquid pools of hazardous chemicals if it is not necessary. Direct, liquid chemical
exposure to the ensemble should be as limited as possible. If exposed to direct splash or a
deluge of hazardous chemicals, leave the area immediately and decontaminate.
Supplied Air Line Applications
To connect to an external supplied air-line system, encapsulating garments must be
equipped with the appropriate, NIOSH approved garment pass-through. This pass-
through connection should not be relied upon as an anchor for a tether. Excess pull on
this fitting may result in permanent damage to the garment.
