Citation

Makinen H, Mustonen SS. Int. J. Occup. Safety Ergonomics 2004; 10(3): 207-213.

Affiliation

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland. helena.makinen@ttl.fi

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy - Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

15377405

Abstract

The purpose of protective clothing and other personal protective equipment (PPE) is to provide escape time, to reduce the burn injury level, and to prevent aggravation of the consequences to workers during exposure to an electric arc. In this study the flammability properties of 12 different types of flame-retardant fabrics were compared with the normally used flame spread test method (EN 532:1994) and electric arc test method (ENV 50354:2001). In the arc test at the lower testing current level of 4 kA, the requirement was passed by materials which did not pass the flame spread test. These materials contained a large amount of melting fibres, and therefore tended to shrink or melt. In order to meet the current level of 7 kA, a rather thick and heavy flame-retardant fabric is needed to pass the requirement. Lighter fabrics tended to break open in the tests. The flame retardancy of the under layer fabric is therefore important to ensure the needed protection.