Protecting people - comfortably

Whether you are working with liquid or solid chemicals, asbestos, paint, oil, grease, viruses and blood borne pathogens or one of the countless other workplace contaminants in evidence today Microgard can assist you in the selection of a garment that will help keep your workforce protected.

Keeping the dangers out is a simple as choosing the correct garment for the job. To assist with the selection of chemical protective clothing the European Commission has identified six “types” or levels of protective garments within Category III of the European PPE directive.

CE marking indicates that the chemical protective clothing meets certain minimum requirements, and certification to a particular type offers an indication of your suits protection against a particular hazard (gas, liquid or dust).

To carry the CE mark, chemical protective clothing must pass one of more of these “type” tests, be correctly labelled and meet or exceed the minimum requirements of the materials physical and chemical barrier properties as specified in the standards.

It is then the responsibility of the manufacturer of the garments to ensure that the products are manufactured to a consistent quality level, and as such the manufacturer must hold a ISO 9001 quality certificate (or suitable alternative), and be subject to regular inspections by an approved authority. These authorities are commonly known as “notified bodies”.

However specifiers of protective clothing should be aware that conformance to “type” standards does not necessarily mean that the garment is 100% impervious to their hazard. In the case of the Type 5 particulate test, garments are allowed individual leakages of up to 30%, providing the average for the suits tested is less than 15%. To that end protective performance levels may differ from one manufacturer to another, even if their products are certified with the same Type.

Protecting the wearer starts with a correctly fitting garment. A good fit helps ensure that your protective clothing provides comfort and protection

Microgard and Microchem garment sizing has been rigorously tested and proven over the years through continuous customer research and product development. Badly fitting garments can restrict wearer movement and ultimately reduce efficiency, protection and comfort.

The garments are manufactured and supplied in accordance with EN340. This European Norm sets out the general performance requirements for ergonomic, innocuousness, size designation, ageing, compatibility and marking of protective clothing and the information to be supplied by the manufacturer with the protective clothing

Greater comfort

A new edition to the product range, Microgard 2000 Comfort, has been specifically designed for those working in warm environments to help reduce heat stress. Developed in conjunction with one of Europe’s largest automobile manufacturers, Microgard 2000 Comfort combines a new lightweight microporous film fabric with a high wicking breathable back panel for exceptional moisture management and breathability.

The new range provides wearers full body protection to EN ISO 13982-1 Type 5 and EN13034 Type 6, with additional protection to EN1073-2 for radioactive particulates and EN1149-1 anti-static.

In addition to the new materials used to improved wearer comfort, the coverall itself features a hood designed to be compatible with most full face respirators. Respirators used in the development of the hood included the 3M 7907S, Sundstrom SR200 and the Scott Promask 2. This improved design allows freedom of movement without gaping around the mask, thus not reducing wearer protection.

Flash risk protection

Microgard FR limited life coveralls offer wearers protection from liquid chemicals to Type 6, without compromising wearer protection in the event of a flash fire.

Recent testing according to the draft standard prEN ISO 13506, for protective clothing against heat in flame (prediction of body burn using an instrumented mannequin) showed that when Microgard FR is worn in combination with NOMEX FR workwear the overall percentage of burn injury is significantly reduced, and more importantly there was no evidence of 3rd degree burns!

Thermal mannequin testing predicted that:

• Wearing a NOMEX 265gsm coverall with NOMEX underwear, when exposed to a flash fire the wearer may suffer 47% body burn
• Wearing a standard polypropylene disposable coverall over the NOMEX 265gsm coverall and NOMEX underwear, when exposed to a flash fire the wearer may suffer 53% body burn – a 6% increase! Wearing Microgard FR over the NOMEX 265gsm coverall and NOMEX underwear, when exposed to a flash fire the wearer may suffer 14% body burn – a 33% decrease

Built-in protectionProtection is afforded by Microgard FR becase the fabrics char at temperatures below their ignition point, as the fabrics char they disintegrate and extinguish the flame. This holds the flame away from the Thermal protective Garment fabric (I.e. NOMEX) and creates a layer of insulating air between the Flame and the TPG. The result is less heat comes into contact with the TPG, hence reduced body burn and level of burn injury.

Thermal mannequin tests are conducted on a 3.5 sec burn at a heat flux of 200cal/cm2 _ approximate temperature reached on the surface of the garments tested is 1100ºc. The mannequin has various sensors strategically positioned on the torso. Subsequent computer analysis indicates 2nd & 3rd degree burn areas, and overall % burn injury is then calculated.

Both Microgard and Microchem products are manufactured under an ISO 9001 quality control system, and meet or exceed the European Norms specified in Category III of the PPE directive for chemical protective workwear. The products have also been extensively tested to achieve the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) and the Korean Occupational Safety & Health Association (KOSHA) guidelines on chemical protective clothing.