Document 155Bzr2vx35JZZk5oLx1ZdEja

FILE NAME: Colgate (COL) DATE: 1977 DOC#: COL034 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: National Safety News Article Referencing Use of Asbestos Garments to Protect Fire-Fighters national Sa fety news Official Occupational Safety and Health Publication ' N O V E M B E R 1977, VOLUME 116, NUMBER 5 National Safety Council 57'0 copies of this Issue were printed Featured This Month . . . Firstaw 51 Technology Advances First Aid Current first aid devices indicate a trend toward compactness in size and specialization to reduce Injury pain. 55 Noise Impact Study --By Howard Rouston jer_ , Before building a new plant this company did a noise survey at the site to keep levels at a minimum in the new plant and surrounding community. 57 Vibration Analysis and Dynamic Balancing--Insurance Against Downtime --By Isadora Schiff This method of preventive maintenance and fault detection helps Balance machinery to meet accept-' able vibration tolerances and lowdr noise levels. 62 Fire and Persona! Protection Personal protective equipment has become ad vanced in efforts to prevent flame and hot gases from taking their toll. 76 Safety Management and incentives "Court" appearances by supervisors are required to explain lost-time accidents and provide motivation to improve safety records. Incentives-reinforce this program? 79 Employee Responsibility and a Construction Company's Safety Program-- The OSHA Mandate - B y Bruce Martin Many firms recognize the need for safety programs, but few recognize the complex Interrelationship between OSHAct compliance and employee responsi,,bility. 81 A Supplementary Emergency Signage System --By Robert J. Kegerrels and A.P. Spiegel Without much money, but lots of Imagination and ingenuity a signage system was developed to meet specific needs, 71 Electromagnets Used With Crane Hoists --Data Sheet 359 focuses on eliminating hazards when using magnets to handle Iron and steel scrap, through proper operation, storage, and mainte nance. 83 industrial Conference Leaders Announced for 1978 85 Board of Directors Named On The Cover mediate enier- tationis adminis tered to a victim. ' Photography by James B, Lehman, NSC staff photo grapher; design by First Impression. (See `Technology Advances First Aid," beginning on page 51.) 2 Departments 4 Future Article Preview 6 Off the Wire 8 Voice of the Reader 18 Safetybriefs 28 Coming Events 32 CRISP 40 Talk About Fire 45 OSHA-Gram 65 Safetyolips 66 Ideas That Worked 68 Off the Job 86 Safety Library 97 Keeping Posted 103 Newscope 108 Personnel Directory 110 Wire From Washington 121 Safety Literature 123 New Safety Equipment 124 OSHCO 132 Reprints 134 Advertisers' Index 136 Reader Service Card November 1977, NATIONAL SAFETY NEWS Fire and Personal Protection Fire injuries can be hideous In pain and difficult to heal. Personal protection has become quite advanced in efforts to mitigate heat and flame hazards. 77 4483 F ire can mean burns and bums mean pain. The pain from bums can be hideous, or in some cases the burn so 'tfauma'tises the body that shock neutralises the pain--but such cases are often fatal. The simplest solution, of course, would be to avoid Are. But fire, like electricity, is our sometimes unruly servant. In industry particularly, fire is a basic source of energy. When the servant, fire, becomes unruly, the men who work with the servant leave the scene, but fire fighters must enter the arena to get the unruly servant back under control;-thus exposing themselves`to possible injury and death. As in so many cases, personal protective equipment is the first line of defense against the hazards of fire. Both fire users and fire-fighters use personal protective equipm eatbut any similarity in the tasks of protection ends here. Protecting the fire user is rela tively simple and straight-forward. When protecting the fire-fighter, the safety professional is faced with a myriad- of variables and ' strong demands--some of them conflict ing. Protecting the User Traditionally, protection against heat, sparks, and fire of low intensity has been provided by garments of leather and asbestos. Although such material has been 'replaced to some degree by space-1 age. synthetics, the old standbys are still in common use. Besides those hazards of heat, sparks, and fire, leather protective wear also protects against the hazards of hot splashes, limited impact forces, and infra-red and ultra-violet radiation. When selecting such garments, look for quality of the leather, These work gloves, of Kevlar, were designed to resist flame and to protect against sharp edges, (Photo courtesy of Du Pont Company.) solidity of construction, and fasten ings that forestall gaps hi the protec tion, In addition, fasteners should be of a design that makes it easy to don and doff the garment. Protective, and other garments worn by the worker, should be free of turned up cuffs and other projec tions, which could catch and retain hot metal, sparks, etc, Any pockets should have flaps that can be fastened shut. Asbestos, and sometimes wool, can be used for protection against hot metal, radiant heat, and flame hazards of somewhat higher inten sity. Some' asbestos clothing is impervious to metal splashes up to 3,000 F (1,815 C). Selection requirements for gar ments of asbestos and wool are much the same as those for leather, with the addition that metal fasten ings be covered so that they do not become dangerously hot. Foundtymen's leggings and aprons are probably the most com mon types of asbestos clothing. The leggings should completely encircle the leg from knee to ankle, and have a flare at the bottom to protect the instep. Again, the design of the leggings and fastenings should permit quick removal in case of an emergency. Sometimes, the front of the leggings are reinforced to provide impact protection. The reinforce ment is commonly made of fiber board. Of more recent vintage is clothing that is reflectorized in some way to protect against radiant heat, flame, etc. , Such clothing of reflectorized fab rics are essential where extremely high ambient temperatures (2,000 F or 1,095 C) must be faced. Such situations include furnace and oven repair, coking, slagging, fire-fight ing, and fire rescue. Generally speaking, the outer coating of these garments reflects away most of the radiant heat and a 62 November 1977, NATIONAL SAFETY NEWS liner insulates against the remainder conventional work clothing--which and acts as a vapor barrier. has been made flame-retardant with Some suits come as separates-- commercial preparations. trousers, coats, gloves, boots, and Properly applied, such prepara hoods. Others come as one-piece tions will make work clothing highly units, covering the body from head flame-resistant without adding to toe. much to the weight or stiffness of the In addition, others contain their doth. own air supply to reduce heat Some commercial preparations further and to increase comfort. must be reapplied after laundering.- Such high heat hazard suits come Others are designed to retain flame- in two types: fire entry and fire retardancy through laundering. proximity. In any event, clothing designed to Fire entry suits, also called emer protect against flame and heat, if not gency suits, are used where tempera already distinctive in appearance, tures exceed 1,000 F (535 C), such as should be well-marked- so that M b or furnace entry or moving untreated clothing will not be used through burning areas in fire-fight- by mistake in a hot or fiery situa ing._ tion. Fire proximity suits provide less protection than fire entry suits and so are used m operations lite slag ging, coking, furnace repair work when working with hot ingots, and Protecting the Fire-Fighter Consider the problems fared These fire-fighters turn out garments are designed to meet NFPA Stan dards, (Photo: Courtesy of Survival^ Division of U.S. Divers Company, in fire-fighting when entering the while protecting the fire-fighter flames is not required, IM PORTANT: Never use a proxim ity,: suit when an entry suit.js-. required. One example of a more recently developed fiber used to replace leather and asbestos for low-intern sity fire and heat protection is the synthetic, Nomex aramid, an inher ently flame-retardant fabric. Nomex welders' garments are available and include styles featur ing the traditional cape sleeve, bib style, ride or front closures, and lengths to the waist or knee. Some models have solid, no from all the dangers he is exposed to-flame, extreme heat, frostbite, fatigue, excessive perspiration, un predictable impact, situations that can deteriorate rapidly, calling for quick mobility, becoming obscured by smoke from potential rescuers, etc. In addition to meeting ell of the needs mentioned, protective apparel must also be reasonably economical, reasonably long-wearing, and easy to put .on in a hurry, Needless to say, the perfect set of turnout clothes isn't perfected as yet, and some authorities feel it never will be because meeting all the parameters is impossible, a long way in a few years, and future prospects are encouraging. Orgaui-zations- .from .the federal National Fire Prevention and Control Admin istration (NFPCA) to the NFPA are engaged in research and standards writing. It js well that the picture is encour aging, because as far as the fire service has come, there is still a distance to go. Available statistics indicate that fire-fighting is the most hazardous occupation of modem times-more dangerous than mining, construc tion, and police work. As expressed by a fire surgeon: closure fronts to prevent gapping and incorporate Velcro closures in the back. Similar type Nomex garments are : available for protection in other heat-hazardous operations. c ' A similar fabric, Kevlar, is also in use on the industrial scene. Accord ing to the manufacturer, Kevlar 29 fabric is inherently flame-resistant, will not support combustion, and is useful over a wide range of thermal conditions. Y For example, work gloves made of the fiber are said to begin to char at i i temperatures of 800 to 900 F (425 to n 480 C) and will withstand short exposures to temperatures up to As one authority put it: You cannot achieve the best of each and every one o f these require ments (thermal protection, du rability, tear strength, overall weight, visibility, water-absorp tion, color fastness, high-tem- ' perature-reststance, washability) in a single garment. There must be some compromises to obtain the best overall garment, which will meet thefire-fighters' routine needs and (also) provide a high level o f protection in emergencies Nevertheless, with the proper use In 1974, 100 fire-fighters sacrificed their lives during the performance o f duty, while nonfatal injuries increased to 47.3 per 100 workers. I f occupa tional diseases are included, the figure increases to 207--207 deaths related to fire-fighting during 1974! The life hazard attached tofire-fighting is much greater than that attached to police work. On the average, from 1965 through 1974 there were 86 deaths for every 100,000 fire-fighters, compared with 55 deathsfor every 100,000 police officers? '1,000 F (535 C). of available protective clothing, the ;r Sometimes, the hazards of expo fire-fighter probably is safer today ts sure of flame and heat hazards of than he ever has been. Today, much of the discussion a V low intensity can be met with Safety in the fire service has come about turnout coats centers around 'S November 1977, NATIONAL SAFETY NEWS 53 This welder's garment Is made of 10ourtce, heavy-duty Nomax duck fab ric. (Photo; Courtesy of Du Pont Company,) those made of Nomex, a trademarked member of the aramid family of synthetic fibers. Nomex's specifications, according to its developer, Du Pont, include: Non-meltability, but it will de grade rapidly at temperatures above 700 F (371 C); Its breaking strength at 482 F (250 C) is equivalent to 60 per cent of that at room temperature; Its breaking strength after expo sure of 1,000 hours in dry air at 500 F (260 C) is about 65 per cent of that before exposure; Its stretch-resistance is about four times that of nylon 6-6, another synthetic fiber; Nomex has a higher resistance to beta and gamma radiation, X-rays, water, and steam at high temperatures than nylon 6-6; The length ,of Nomex is unaf fected by changes in relative humidity. The modern turnout coat could be said to come in two parts, which have four functions. The outer part, or shell, is a fiameresistant synthetic fiber that acts as a heat-reflector and barrier'. Then a reraoveable liner acts as a vapor barrier, an insulating batting, and a lining fabric, (Note: The removable liner leads many fire-fighters to belive it is meant for warmth only, and they tend to remove it in warm weather. They should be educated to the fact that this action will only expose them to greater bum hazards,) In addition, the air spaces be tween the layers of material act as a further insulation against heat. As noted, modem synthetic fab rics provide a great deal of flame protection--when used properly--but as even manufacturers point out1, every fire coat has it's failure point, particularly under sudden, cata-r strophic Are conditions, Fife-fighters gloves are another area where work remains to be done: --- OSHA spokesmen have said: None o f the gloves currently used by fire-fighters in the United States provide both ade quate protection andfunction. They add: For the most part, current standards emphasize construc tion parameters without ad dressing'the fire-fighters' actual needs.3 ' However, the same authors pro vide guidelines for what standards gloves should meet in the various hazard areas of: resistance to cut; resistance to puncture; resistance to heat penetration; resistance to wet heat penetration; resistance to cold; resistance to electricity; dexterity; resistance to liquids; comfort; resistance to flame; durability; dry ing; visibility. As an example, the authors break down the "resistance to heat pene tration" category into three levels of protection; - Gloves used by engine-company fire-fighters should protect against relatively mild "routine" radiant exposures--from five to 60 minutes with a maximum 'air temperature of 140 F (60 C) and a maximum radiant flux of 399 Btu/ft5-hr (0.03 cal/cm8-sec; Gloves used by ladder-company fire-fighters should protect against a hazardous (entering a burning building while a fire is at its height) flux of 2,660 Btu/Tt3-hr (0.2 cai/cnTsec) for a 10-minute exposure; Gloves used by rescue-company fire-fighters should protect against an emergency flux of 33,192 Btu/ft3- hr (2.5 cal/cms-sec) for a 10 second exposure:? " Most authorities seem to agree that flre-fighteis should use the boot with all the safety options--steel toe cap, steel insoles, etc. However, there are calls for improvements and options: Optional lengths or a feature whereby the taller fire-fighter could cut his boots down to suit his height3 *; * An option to wear six-inch (13.24-centimeterj'leather work shoe for fighting brush fires in warmer climates, such as Southern Califor nia6; Footwear that will provide bet ter traction on ladders, wet surfaces, pitched roofs, and mountainsides3'6; . Footgear that is lighter in weight, less cumbersome, and less prone to lead to fungal infection.5 While it is true that today's fire fighter is thought to haye only about a 5(3-50 chance of escaping injury ' this year1, is should be remembered that some 75 per cent of fire-fighters wear outmoded equipment, which is estimated to be unable to pass the children's sleepwear flammability test, and according to Molter many fire-fighters wear equipment im properly, if at all Modern fire protective equipment is made to be safer-and it's made to be worn, fl REFERENCES 1. Molter, John O., "A Fiber Produc er Looks at Fire Fighters Protective Clothing," Conference on Protection for Fire Fighters, ITT Research Institute, 10 W. 35th St., Chicago 60616. March 9,10, 11,1976. 2. Esch, Victor H., MD, F.A.C.S., "Physiological Hazards in Fire-Fighting as Seen by a Surgeon," ibid, 3. Karnin, Jeff!., P.E., and Gerald C Coletta, MS, "A Research Study for the Development of Criteria for Fire-Fight ers' Gloves," ibid, 4. Petersen, John L., "The Flamma ble Fireman," ibid. 5. Turner, James M,, "Fire Depart ment Involvement in Research and Development of Fire-Fighter Protective Clothing and Equipment," ibid. 64 November 1977, NATIONAL SAFETY NEWS