Monday, April 21, 2014

The What And Why Of Tyvek Coveralls

By Essie Osborn


These items of apparel have a distinctive look. Tyvek coveralls are typically white, appear to be plastic, and are worn as just one full body garment, a single item from head to toe. They protect workers like mechanics, laboratory cleaning crews, or construction professionals against hazards of different kinds, saving lives by creating a barrier against aerosol and airborne hazards, and some liquids as well.

One of the most distinctive things about this material is that it's made differently from most protective textiles. The barrier is spun right into the threads of the fabric, in a process known as spunbound bonding, or a "flashspun" process. This makes it more effective than alternative fabrics which are simply coated with a protective layer, which could be damaged or scratched in the field.

The amount of coverage a coverall provides depends not only on the materials it is made from, but from the style of closure at its edges. For maximum protection, you can get coveralls that have elastic around both the wrists and the ankles. This makes the fabric hug the wearer's body, so that nothing can permeate at the extremities.

Tyvek's affordable price point makes it ideal for a lot of fields, including construction jobs, painting, and insulation. It is an effective solution against dry particulates like lead and asbestos, and repels liquids while allowing water vapor to pass through it, for comfortable wear. However, if you or your workers are going to be encountering highly hazardous materials, or will be in situations where you need chemical splash protection, you might want a more expensive and more powerful layer of protection against dangerous agents.

One of the hazards of protective clothing happens after the job, when the garments need to be cleaned. However, with Tyvek, this isn't a problem, as the coveralls are designed to be disposable. By getting rid of the outfits after they've been exposed to hazardous substances, you are protecting everyone, even your cleanup crew.

This material, while developed for safety wear, has other uses as well. Fashionable retailer American Apparel sells shorts made of this textile to its youthful audience of stylish shoppers. Rock band Devo, known for their avant-garde music and sensibility, have been spotted wearing this material in their stage shows and music videos. Because the material is so unique and modern, its visual appeal to fashionistas takes it beyond its original purpose on job sites.

While this material isn't completely indestructible, it's designed to reduce the risk of accidental tears and snags. The highly dense fabric is difficult to rip. You can deliberately cut the fabric with scissors or a knife, but the coveralls are almost impossible to accidentally rip on a job site. The fact that it won't snare and rip in the course of work means that the wearer can relax, without worrying about unexpected exposure.

When compared against many other synthetic materials, this one is distinctly environmentally friendly, because of the DuPont company's Tyvek recycling program. Whether it's a garment that's been worn (in a situation where there hasn't been exposure to hazardous materials), or it's simply a used object, like a USPS Priority Mail envelope, if the item is made of Tyvek, the same company that manufactures the item will accept it for recycling.




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