ShieldCSR™

Chemical Repellence

Laboratory personnel typically wear a lab coat to help keep themselves clean and protected from the various chemicals and substances they work with. However, commonly used non-FR lab coats lack chemical repellent properties.

Milliken^®ShieldCSR™ fabric is a non-FR, 100% polyester fabric that is designed to shed liquids following a splash from a wide variety of liquid chemicals, thus limiting exposure. Milliken^® ShieldCSR™ is engineered with a patented SofTouch™ technology and a proprietary softening process that makes it feel more like cotton and is more comfortable than a typical polyester lab coat. Milliken^® ShieldCSR™ fabric is also available in white for the same professional look as other lab coats.

Note: Workers who are exposed to large amounts of liquid chemicals, toxic or corrosive gases, and/or chemical mixtures under pressure, should utilize primary chemical protection as defined by ASTM F903, which means the garment must often be air-tight and non-breathable. Milliken ShieldCSR^TM is not designed for primary chemical protection.

A modified AATCC 193 test method is used to quantify the chemical splash resistance. The method uses an “A” through “D” rating scale to rate the interaction of water and water/alcohol mixtures with the fabric surface. In the test, the fabric is held on a flat surface and the test droplet is placed onto the fabric. An “A”, “B”, “C”, or “D” rating is assigned after ten seconds. An “A” rating corresponds to no interaction with the fabric while a “D” rating designates complete wicking of the solvent across and through the fabric. Ratings “B” and “C” are intermediate designations.

“A” and “B” ratings indicate that the fabric would possess a resistance to penetration following inadvertent chemical splash.

There are countless liquid chemicals and combinations thereof that could be tested and rated according to the above method. A finite list of challenge chemicals were selected including those from the ASTM F1001-12 method. These challenge chemicals are designed to represent a broad range of chemical classes, hazards, and physical characteristics.

This list is intended to provide a basic guideline as to the capabilities of ShieldCSR^TM fabric. Decisions regarding resistance of the fabric towards a certain chemical or chemical combination, it is recommended that a challenge droplet be applied to the fabric and rated according to the AATCC 193 test method in a controlled manner before the fabric is used as PPE.

Inadvertent Chemical Splash Resistant through 50 Industrial Launderings

Using the modified AATCC 193 test methodology with a limited challenge set composed of water, ethanol, DMSO, sodium hydroxide and acetonitrile, laundering was performed using 120°F, and 140°F methods and samples were withdrawn every 10 launderings. When subjected to laundering at various temperatures and methods there is little to no degradation in performance up to 50 launderings. The performance of the fabric relies on proper laundering.

Reference care & Maintenance guidelines. It is important to note that chemical exposure may affect future chemical resistant properties. Careful consideration should be taken to replace the effected garment in accordance with the user’s standard safety protocol.

In addition to resistance to the solvents and mixtures in the above chart, it has been found that Milliken ShieldCSR^TM is also resistant to corrosive and oxidizing solvent combinations. One particularly dramatic example is piranha solution (a 3:1 mixture of 98% sulfuric acid: 30% hydrogen peroxide). This extremely oxidizing mixture is known to rapidly consume organic matter and presents a significant hazard. Despite its hazardous nature, it is a common mixture used in both academic and industrial laboratories. A test was created to quantify the resistance against the penetration of this mixture. A fabric swatch was spread across the lid of beaker to create a concave surface. A freshly prepared piranha mixture was poured onto the fabric surface. As noted in the image, the Milliken ShieldCSR^TM continued to repel the piranha solution while the polyester and cotton lab coat fabric quickly deteriorated.

Inadvertent Chemical Splash Resistant through 50 Industrial Launderings