ANNEXE 5: WHOLE GARMENT PERFORMANCE

WHOLE-SUIT TYPE TESTS For a summarised description of the conditions of the whole-suit Type tests please refer to Annexe 2 The Relationship between Garment Categories, Types and Classes.

STANDARD EN 1073

The EN 1073-2 standard was developed for the nuclear industry and relates to the barrier properties of protective suits against contaminated solid particulates. It does not apply to protection from

ionising radiation. The EN 1073-2 applies a recognised test method (EN ISO 13982-2) to determine the inward leakage and the barrier effi ciency of the garment when challenged under controlled conditions. Three levels of performance class are assigned to garments subjected to this test although the very broad performance spans of these three bands renders them, at best, a very blunt instrument for evaluating the relative performance of different garments.

However the same EN test results can be expressed as a Nominal Protection Factor (NPF) which assigns a specifi c numeric value to the protection provided. This makes it possible to compare suits within the same Class, for example to compare a suit that is at the very bottom of Class 2 with one at the very top of Class 2.

Class 1: Lowest particle barrier NPF 5 to 49. Class 2: Intermediate particle barrier NPF 50 to 499. Class 3: Highest particle barrier NPF >500.

PROTECTION AGAINST RADIOACTIVE PARTICULATES Radioactive particulate matter is dust and very fi ne particles which have been exposed to ionising nuclear radiation. Unless contained and managed these contaminated particulates not only present a serious health hazard to any personnel in proximity but, without proper safeguards, there is a further risk of radioactive particulates being inadvertently transferred

elsewhere, for example to uncontained workplace areas. This is due to the ease with which microscopic radioactive particles can attach to clothing, footwear, tools and other items in the exposure zone and then be subsequently dispersed unknowingly into safe environments.

Annexe 5 65