Effectiveness of decontaminating chemical protective clothing fabrics and the effect these procedures had on selected performance properties of the fabrics were assessed.

Removal by laundering of methomyl from nylon, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyester/cotton fabrics, and of endosulfan from the polyester/cotton fabric were examined. Reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection, and gas chromatography (GC) with electron capture detection were used to detect methomyl and endosulfan residues respectively. The polyester/cotton fabric initially absorbed higher amounts of high strength methomyl than both the nylon and PVC fabrics, but methomyl residues were more readily removed. Laundering was more effective in removing methomyl than endosulfan from the polyester/cotton fabric.

The effect of laundering treatments on the fabrics' resistance to chemical permeation and penetration was examined. Resistance to chemical permeation and penetration were measured using the gravimetric test cell [1], and the standard Protective Clothing — Protection Against Liquid Chemicals — Determination of Resistance of Materials to Penetration by Liquids (ISO 6530:1990) run-off test method, respectively. Resistance depended on the chemical concentration, fabric type and to a lesser extent, chemical type. The chemical resistance of nylon and polyester/cotton fabrics decreased as the number of wash cycles increased, but no such change was evident with the PVC fabric.

The global relevance of results is noted, since chemical protective clothing is produced by relatively few manufacturers for worldwide distribution and use.