Chemical permeation test approved

Clothes designed to protect workers from chemical hazards must successfully prevent the harmful substance from permeating fabric and coming into contact with skin. A new American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) international standard provides directions in using a computer program, the permeation calculator, to analyze data following a permeation test to determine if the substance has gotten inside the clothing. ASTM F2815, “Practice for Chemical Permeation through Protective Clothing Materials,” uses a computer program developed at the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Industrial hygienists, researchers and students will be the primary users of the standard.