Chemical Protective Clothing Applications

The purpose of chemical protective clothing and equipment is to shield or isolate individuals from the chemical, physical, and biological hazards that may be encountered during hazardous materials operations. During chemical operations, it is not always apparent when exposure occurs. Many chemicals pose invisible hazards and offer no warning properties.

These guidelines describe the various types of clothing that are appropriate for use in various chemical operations, and provides recommendations in their selection and use. The final section discusses heat stress and other key physiological factors that must be considered in connection with protective clothing use.

It is important that protective clothing users realize that no single combination of protective equipment and clothing is capable of protecting you against all hazards. Thus protective clothing should be used in conjunction with other protective methods. For example, engineering or administrative controls to limit chemical contact with personnel should always be considered as an alternative measure for preventing chemical exposure. The use of protective clothing can itself create significant wearer hazards, such as heat stress, physical and psychological stress, in addition to impaired vision, mobility, and communication. In general, the greater the level of chemical protective clothing, the greater the associated risks. For any given situation, equipment and clothing should be selected that provide an adequate level of protection. Overprotection as well as under-protection can be hazardous and should be avoided.

Protective clothing must be worn whenever the wearer faces potential hazards arising from chemical exposure. Some examples include:

Emergency response,
Chemical manufacturing and process industries,
Hazardous waste site clean up and disposal,
Asbestos removal and other particulate operations, and
Agricultural application of pesticides.

Within each application, there are several operations which require chemical protective clothing. For example, in emergency response, the following activities dictate chemical protective clothing use:

Site Survey - The initial investigation of a hazardous materials incident; these situations are usually characterized by a large degree of uncertainty and mandate the highest levels of protection.
Rescue - Entering a hazardous materials area for the purpose of removing an exposure victim; special considerations must be given to how the selected protective clothing may affect the ability of the wearer to carry out rescue and to the contamination of the victim.
Spill Mitigation - Entering a hazardous materials area to prevent a potential spill or to reduce the hazards from an existing spill (i.e., applying a chlorine kit on railroad tank car). Protective clothing must accommodate the required tasks without sacrificing adequate protection.
Emergency Monitoring - Outfitting personnel in protective clothing for the primary purpose of observing a hazardous materials incident without entry into the spill site; This may be applied to monitoring contract activity for spill clean up.
Decontamination - Applying decontamination procedures to personnel or equipment leaving the site; in general a lower level of protective clothing is used by personnel involved in decontamination.