{"id":17015,"date":"2020-06-08T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/?p=17015"},"modified":"2020-06-05T11:03:52","modified_gmt":"2020-06-05T10:03:52","slug":"the-difference-between-treated-and-inherent-flame-retardant-fabrics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-difference-between-treated-and-inherent-flame-retardant-fabrics\/","title":{"rendered":"The difference between treated and inherent flame-retardant fabrics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mark Lant explains the difference so you can make the right choice and keep you and your workforce safe at work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flame retardant materials may seem like a self-explanatory concept. After all, the name suggests this type of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) protects its wearer against all forms of fire hazards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, when you consider an Arc Flash incident exposes you to temperatures hotter than the sun, it pays to know what you\u2019re buying when it comes to protective clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is an Arc Flash?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hotter than the sun and louder than a bullet, an Arc Flash is when an arcing fault releases dangerous levels of radiant energy, which vaporises metal that spews from the arc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The air is super-heated causing pressure waves that can throw individuals across rooms and create a deadly molten shrapnel. They can be caused by voltage spikes, worn connections, cable strikes or gaps in insulation, and are a risk even in low-voltage set ups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Treatment for those that survive an incident can require years of skin grafts, hospital stays and rehabilitation \u2013 they may never recover sufficiently to regain their lifestyle, so it\u2019s safe to say that choosing the appropriate PPE is key when it comes to Arc Flash safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difference between treated and inherent fabric<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two phrases regularly used when shopping for appropriate PPE clothing are \u2018treated fabric\u2019 and \u2018inherent fabric\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Treated fabric is made from fibres which are not flame retardant by nature but have undergone a chemical process to add a fire resistance quality to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protection given by a treated fabric relies on that treatment not being degraded or worn off in any way during its lifetime. However, washing or long-term use can reduce the protection these safety garments offer, which is why this type of clothing is generally cheaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inherent fabric, on the other hand, refers to material which has fire retardant properties as part of its natural make-up. In other words, they needn\u2019t undergo a chemical process to become flame-retardant, as the polymers which make up the clothing are inherently so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inherent fabric does not lose any of its protective qualities after long periods of wear or washing but does tend to be more expensive due to its durability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should you look for?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to weigh up your priorities when purchasing PPE clothing. Compromising on quality could be detrimental when understanding the real risk and danger of Arc Flash. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When looking at numbers on a spreadsheet it\u2019s difficult to see beyond the figures to the overall value of a product, meaning it can be tempting to buy the cheapest flame resistant clothing, but there\u2019s a reason why the old saying goes, \u2018buy cheap, buy twice\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019d always urge those in charge of the purse strings to think about what price they\u2019d put on a colleague\u2019s life and how it\u2019s actually far more cost effective to buy products less frequently due to their durability, quality and ability to keep colleagues protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most important quality to look for in your PPE clothing is that it is not only fire-retardant but specifically protects you against Arc Flash. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies such as ProGARM ensure all their clothing uses inherent fabric, has an EN certification relevant to the intended use and\/or industry and complies with domestic and industrial washing standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Lant is technical sales manager at ProGARM<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark Lant explains the difference so you can make the right choice and keep you and your workforce safe at work Flame retardant materials may seem like a self-explanatory concept. After all, the name suggests this type of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) protects its wearer against all forms of fire hazards.  However, when you consider …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[105,106,1],"tags":[6077,8419,8420,5434],"class_list":["post-17015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-design","category-oil-gas","category-process","tag-arc-flash","tag-flame-retardant-ppe","tag-inherent-and-treated-fabrics","tag-progarm"],"yoast_head":"\nThe difference between treated and inherent flame-retardant fabrics - Engineer News Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mark Lant explains the difference so you can make the right choice and keep you and your workforce safe at work\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/the-difference-between-treated-and-inherent-flame-retardant-fabrics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The difference between treated and inherent flame-retardant fabrics - 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