Three Things to Look for in Winter Wear for Workers Exposed to Flames and Arc Flash:

1. Be certain the winter wear meets standards for the hazards your workers are exposed to.

a. ASTM F1506 for arc flash (will include ASTM F1959 arc testing, but an arc rating is not enough. Some imported products will have an arc rating, but have not been subjected to complete full testing to the ASTM F1506 specification. Beware and ask for reports).

b. ASTM F1891 for arc flash rainwear (also includes ASTM F1959 arc testing, but has additional requirements.  Some winter wear is dual purpose for rain and cold; these garments may meet ASTM F1891).

c. ASTM F2733 is the flash fire standard for rainwear.

d. NFPA 2112 is the flash fire standard for industrial garments, including winter wear.  Most of the winter wear on the market for arc flash has not been dually certified to NFPA 2112. This standard requires full third-party certification and has small-scale testing that excludes some batting materials.

e. ASTM F2621: This guide frequently is used to evaluate a garment for compliance to NFPA 70E and exposes the fully constructed garment to one or more arc flash exposures at the fabric’s rating level. Performing ASTM F2621 allows you to evaluate a finished garment’s response to an arc, while satisfying the clause in NFPA 70E requiring garments to be doffable following an arc event. This reporting should only be provided by a third-party lab.

2. Ask for third-party test data or full lab reports. If a company cannot produce them in a reasonable time, they may not be giving due diligence to their FR program.  The not-for-profit Safety Equipment Institute (SEI) and the for-profit Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL) both serve the industry as third-party certification bodies. There are several excellent third party labs that do testing; always ask for test reports.  If the manufacturer provides an ISO 17025 accredited lab report, this is a good sign. Additionally, many labs will offer to evaluate (for a fee) the fabric against their retained sample to assure it is genuine.

3. Evaluate the insulating properties of the garment. A standard Clo value can be helpful, but this only is a single data point for consideration. Wear trials in the working conditions are the best way to evaluate a garment, as design can contribute both positively and negatively in winter wear garments. Loft maintenance of the batting, proper quilting and good garment design will be apparent in wearing in a cold environment. If the trial is during a warm time of year, check with a local cold storage company. They have shown willingness to allow workers to spend time in cold storage to evaluate garments and clothing systems. Using an infrared camera also can show poor design, especially around the zipper.

4. Evaluate the durability of the garment by washing. Some will lose loft quite quickly in laundering and allow a good Clo figure to “go bad” after just a few washes.

5. Evaluate the water repellency of the outer-shell fabric in snow or rain. This can mean the difference between comfortable workers or freezing ones.

Tom Kiddle is the director of specialized sales at Carhartt Inc. He is responsible for managing Carhartt’s nontraditional sales channels, including industrial sales, discount sales, Wholesale.com and inside sales. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration Gettysburg College (Pa.) and a master’s degree in business administration from the College of William & Mary (Va.).

Originally posted at  http://ehstoday.com/protective-clothing/meet-new-flame-resistant-clothing-multi-hazard-protection?page=2