Hazmat Suits

Hazard Select Tool IconOne of the several ways to search is to know the CAS (Chemical Abstract Service) number of the chemical compound you are dealing with. A CAS number can be up to 10 digits long, split into three parts, and divided by hyphens. One example of this is Ammonia which has a CAS number of 7664-41-7.

For a full list of CAS numbers see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CAS_numbers_by_chemical_compound
Now let’s look up Ammonia using lookup by CAS number using the SafeSPEC™ tool by using the steps below:

1. At the selector home click on hazard.
2. Read the terms of use policy and hit agree if you agree to the terms provided.
3. Under “CAS Number” field enter the CAS number that corresponds with the chemical compound.
4. Click the “Add to List >” box.
5. Two options appear in a pop up box that says multiple hazards found, Ammonia (gas) and Ammonia (liquid, < -35°C).
6. Select liquid in this example to move on to the next box.
7. You will see it will give new information regarding that the hazard was tested as a liquid phase and to caution on what the working environment temperature is. For now click the x to exit out of the box in order to continue with the liquid only example.
8. Click next under the Hazard and CAS box where Ammonia (liquid, < -35°C) and 7664-41-7 was added.
9. The next screen will ask you a series of question regarding what type of hazard exposure you will be dealing with. For our Ammonia example check the following: No, Moderate, Spray, 15 minutes, and Direction of exposure from below. Read the “Note” and “Caution” data then click view matching products to continue.
10. At this point you can see which hazmat suits can be used for this chemical based on the information provided. For this example the Tychem® models CPF 3 Coveralls, TK, and ThermoPro hazmat suits are shown.
11. Next click the tab above that says “chemical resistance”, enter the CAS number once again in the blank fields, and then click on see all fabrics tested. This will show the hazmat suits materials breakthrough times for that given chemical element.

The second way of searching by hazard for a hazmat suit is in the box called “Chemical or Other Hazard Name.

1. Type in the chemical name, in the example for Ammonia type in the letters “Ammo”, a drop down box will appear where you can select from a selection of auto filled named for chemicals.
2. Select Ammonia (liquid, < -35°C) as an example, then select the “Add to List >”
3. As in the above example the dialogue box appears warning about the ambient temperature. For now close that box by click on the white x and hit the “Next >” button to continue on.
4. Repeat steps 9 through 11 as shown above and there you have it, another way to lookup the data for your hazmat suit research.

Another way to do a search lookup for hazmat suits is to use the SafeSPEC™ 2.0 tool and do a search by task/industry.

1. At the SafeSPEC™ 2.0 selector home screen select the industry tab.
2. As shown in the hazard example before read the terms and agreements and click agree if you accept the terms provided and wish to continue on.
3. A list of industries will appear on the page select on that best fits your description, for an example I will chose Waste Management (Remediation & Refuse)
4. The next screen shows types of tasks and refuse, for now I will chose Biohazard Handling to continue on.
5. Here is explains what will be evaluated as the hazard I picked or I have the option click to go back to the “Identify Your Hazards” page to enter more hazards by a chemical or hazard name or with a CAS number. It also includes a PDF about Bloodborne Pathogens if I want more information regarding that subject. Not all pages will be the same at this screen. For now we will click next to continue on with the example.
6. The next step is to enter in data for hazard exposure which is at the moment is Bodily fluids with potentially infectious diseases, CAS number unknown, and a physical state that is liquid. Enter random data here to continue on for example purposes only, select No, Moderate, Spray, and All Directions for Direction of exposure. Read the Note and Caution sections then click view matching products. Here you can see all the matching products based off the scenario provided. Hazmat suits such as Tyvek®, Tychem® QC, CPF3, BR, LV, TK, and ThermoPro appear as a result.
7. Also be sure to check out the Chemical Resistance Tab to find permeation data breakthrough time for particular chemicals challenges for a given Tychem® fabric.

The third and final way to find the right garment for your situation is to use the Guide feature. Basically it is like the tools described above but more questions can be asked and it offers more flexibility in the hazmat suit selection process. It is also used if the particular hazard cannot be found in the database.

1. Introduction – This section describes what the Guides functionality is.
2. Define your hazard – Evaluates one hazard at a time, asks a few questions about the hazards physical state, concentration, and time of exposure.
3. Define your exposure level – More questions are asked about the exposure risk regarding flame, contact quantity, duration, and direction.
4. Select Your Fabric – This is where a fabric can be selected for further review, and provides permeation data for all ASTM F1001 chemical challenges for the Tychem® fabrics based on the information provided earlier.
5. Seam Selection – Shows the seam options based on answer given from the hazard scenario questionnaire answered earlier. Allows the selection of seam or different seam options for further evaluation.
6. Design – Different design options can be chosen for the scenario provided for further consideration.
7. Matching products results page – Shows the actual products and their corresponding Tychem® product model numbers based on all criteria given from the previous steps.

Scenario Select Tool Icon

The Scenarios tab is where you can find saved data from previous research and not have to go through each scenario with the selector tool again. It also has important reads about multiple scenarios or searching multiple hazards at one time, updates, and cache storage.