Vinches Ludwig, Hallé Stéphane
a Department of Mechanical Engineering , École de Technologie Supérieure , Montreal , Canada.
J Occup Environ Hyg. 2017 Dec;14(12):939-946. doi: 10.1080/15459624.2017.1368527.
In the field of dermal protection, the use of chemical protective clothing (CPC) (including coveralls) are considered as the last barrier against airborne engineered nanomaterials (ENM). In the majority of cases, Type 5 CPC, used against solid particles (ISO 13982-1), perform well against ENM. But in a recent study, a penetration level (PL) of up to 8.5% of polydisperse sodium chloride airborne nanoparticles has been measured. Moreover, in all the previous studies, tests were performed on a sample of protective clothing material without seams or zippers. Thus, the potential for permeation through a zipper or seams has not yet been determined, even though these areas would be privileged entry points for airborne ENM. This work was designed to evaluate the PL of airborne ENM through coveralls and specifically the PL through the seams on different parts of the CPC and the zipper. Eight current models of CPC (Type 5) were selected. The samples were taken from places with and without seams and with a zipper. In some cases, a cover strip can be added to the zipper to enhance its sealing. Polydisperse nanoparticles were generated by nebulization of a sodium chloride solution. A penetration cell was developed to expose the sample to airborne nanometric particles. The NaCl particle concentration in number was measured with an ultrafine particle counter and the PL was defined as the downstream concentration divided by the upstream concentration. The results obtained show that the PL increased significantly in the presence of seams and could reach up to 90% depending on the seam's design. Moreover, this study classifies the different types of seams by their resistance against airborne ENM. As for the penetration of airborne NaCl particles through the zipper, the PL was greatly attenuated by the presence of a cover strip, but only for certain models of coveralls. Finally, the values of the pressure drop were directly linked to the type of seam. All of these conclusions provide recommendations to both manufacturers and users.
在皮肤防护领域，化学防护服（CPC）（包括工作服）的使用被视为抵御空气中工程纳米材料（ENM）的最后一道屏障。在大多数情况下，用于防护固体颗粒的5类CPC（ISO 13982-1）对ENM防护效果良好。但最近一项研究测得，多分散氯化钠空气传播纳米颗粒的穿透率（PL）高达8.5%。此外，在之前所有研究中，测试均在没有接缝或拉链的防护服材料样本上进行。因此，尽管这些部位可能是空气中ENM的优先进入点，但通过拉链或接缝渗透的可能性尚未确定。这项工作旨在评估ENM通过工作服的PL，特别是通过CPC不同部位的接缝和拉链的PL。选择了8种现行的CPC（5类）型号。样本取自有接缝、无接缝以及有拉链的部位。在某些情况下，可在拉链上添加覆盖条以增强其密封性。通过雾化氯化钠溶液产生多分散纳米颗粒。开发了一个穿透池，将样本暴露于空气中的纳米颗粒中。用超细颗粒计数器测量氯化钠颗粒的数量浓度，PL定义为下游浓度除以上游浓度。所得结果表明，存在接缝时PL显著增加，根据接缝设计，PL可达90%。此外，本研究根据对空气中ENM的抗性对不同类型的接缝进行了分类。至于空气中氯化钠颗粒通过拉链的穿透情况，覆盖条的存在使PL大大降低，但仅对某些型号的工作服有效。最后，压降值与接缝类型直接相关。所有这些结论为制造商和用户都提供了建议。
