Liquid chemicals

What are the dangers of exposure to liquid chemicals?

Exposure to chemicals can have short- and long-term health effects. Some of the possible health effects include:

• Poisoning
• Nausea and vomiting
• Headache
• Skin rashes
• Chemical burns
• Birth defects
• Disorders of the lung, kidney or liver
• Nervous system disorders

PPE that provides protection against liquid chemicals

When measures such as physical changes to the workplace are no longer enough to avoid exposure to liquid chemicals, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is a last line of defence for your safety.

When you are looking for proper chemical protective clothing, you need to take the following factors into account:

• effectiveness of the clothing as a barrier to chemicals;
• the type of chemicals you work with;
• the tasks you have to perform with the garments;
• the working circumstances;
• the body zones that need protection;
• design;
• style, etc.

In situations where there is a risk of potential exposure to a light spray, liquid aerosols or low volume splashes, PPE against liquid chemicals is needed. This PPE should comply with EN 13034. This PPE only gives limited protection e.g. against accidental splashes.

We also have a range of chemical protective clothing that complies with the standard EN 14605. This standard is suitable for conditions where a complete liquid permeation barrier at the molecular level is required. Depending on your activities, you can choose between full-body or partial protection, offering protection to specific parts of the body.

For garments conform to this standard, such as garments made in our Chemtex and Chemflex fabrics, we pay special attention to the seams to make sure that no hazardous liquids can penetrate the garments. The welded seams provide improved penetration resistance, as there are no stitch holes where the chemicals can penetrate the garment. Other design choices, such as avoiding unprotected pockets are well-considered to guarantee that there are no features that could collect liquid chemicals and hold them onto the fabric surface.

European Standard EN 14605

The European Standard EN 14605 provides ‘performance requirements for clothing with liquid-tight (type 3) or spray-tight (type 4) connections, including items providing protection to parts of the body only (Types PB [3] and PB [4])’ (NEN)

European Standard EN 13034

The European Standard EN 13034 provides performance requirements for chemical protective clothing offering limited protective performance against liquid chemicals (Type 6 and Type PB [6] equipment)’ (NEN).

‘Limited performance chemical protective clothing is intended for use in cases of a potential exposure to a light spray, liquid aerosols or low pressure, low volume splashes, against which a complete liquid permeation barrier (at the molecular level) is not required.’ (NEN)