PROTECTIVE CLOTHING AGAINST INFECTIVE AGENTS Protective clothing against infective agents has to prevent infective agents from reaching the skin and to prevent the spreading of infective agents to other people and other situations, e.g. eating or drinking, when the person has taken his protective clothing off. The European Standard EN 14126 specifi es
requirements for clothing materials providing protection against infective agents. The test methods specifi ed in this standard focus on the medium containing the micro-organism, such as liquid, aerosol or solid dust particles. EN 14126 comprises the following material tests: T
Protective suits made of EN 14126 compliant fabrics must also meet the whole suit requirements specifi ed in the relevant chemical protective clothing Type standard. They must be CE Certifi ed as Category III
and can be identifi ed by the biohazard pictogram. The clothing Types to protect against biological agents are broken down as follows: T
DuPont Personal Protection offers protective suits which cover all four risk groups as well as Types 3 to 6. Depending on the form of biological agent, the levels of exposure, the nature of the work and the risk of infection, the barrier performance of the fabric to the relevant infective agent test(s) should be considered.
The type of seam and the material s mechanical robustness also needs to be taken into consideration. For instance, in the case of viruses, such as Ebola, performance with regard to their resistance to penetration by blood-borne pathogens (ISO 16604) is key.
ANNEXE 4: FABRIC TESTING
Test method Norm Scope/Principle
Resistance to penetration by blood and body fl uids using synthetic blood
ISO 16603
The material is subjected to a body fluid simulant (synthetic blood) for a specified time and pressure sequence. A visual observation is made to determine when penetration occurs. The highest pressure with no visible penetration of synthetic blood is recorded.
Resistance to penetration by blood-borne pathogens using Phi-X174 bacteriophage
ISO 16604
The material is subjected to a nutrient broth containing a virus for a specified time and pressure sequence. Visual detection is supple- mented with an assay procedure that will detect viable viruses which penetrate the material even when the liquid penetration is not visible.
Resistance to penetration by contaminated liquids
EN ISO 22610
The test method involves superimposing the bacterial contaminated donor (Staphylococcus aurus) material onto the fabric and subjecting it to mechanical rubbing. Due to the combined effect of rubbing and liquid migration, bacteria may spread from the donor material through the fabric down to the agar surface.
Resistance to penetration by contaminated aerosols
ISO/DIS 22611
The test method exposes a material to a bacterium (Staphylococcus aurus) suspended in an aerosol and sprayed onto both an unshielded fi lter and one shielded with the test material. The ratio of bacteria found on the shielded (bacteria passed through) and unshielded (background bacterial count) fi lter is used to assess the barrier properties of the test material.
Resistance to penetration by contaminated solid particles
ISO 22612
A portion of talc contaminated with Bacillus subtilis spores is poured on the fabric and captured on a sedimentation plate (Petri dish) after vibration for 30 minutes. After 24h incubation of the sedimentation plate, the number of colonies produced are counted.
B io
ba rr
ie r
Table 10. Protection against infective agents (EN 14126) test methods.
Type Description Relevant standard
1a-B, 1b-B, 1c-B Gas-tight EN 943-1:2002, EN 943-2:2002 2-B Non gas-tight EN 943-1:2002, EN 943-2:2002 3-B Protection against pressurised liquid chemicals EN 14605:2005 +A1:2009 4-B Protection against liquid aerosols (spray tight) EN 14605:2005 +A1:2009 5-B Protection against airborne solid particulates EN ISO 13982-1:2004 +A1:2010 6-B Limited protection against liquid chemicals (light spray) EN 13034:2005 +A1:2009
Table 11. Protective clothing Types according to EN 14126:2003.
Annexe 4 63