Minutes of Meeting NC 170 - Multi-State Project

Denver, Colorado, August 5-6, 2004

NC 170: Mediating Exposure To Environmental Hazards Through Textile Systems

List serve address: NC170@ iastate.edu

NC-170 Web page: http://txnc170.human.cornell.edu/

Regional Research manual: http://www.wisc.edu/ncra/manual.html

Members in Attendance: Mastura Raheel (Illinois), Anugrah Shaw (Maryland), Charlotte Coffman (New York), Susan Ashdown (New York), Donna Branson (Oklahoma), Margaret Rucker (California), Kay Obendorf (New York), Ajoy Sarkar (Colorado), Huantian Cao (Oklahoma), Karen LaBat (Minnesota) and Mary Winter (Iowa, Administrative Adviser)

Adopted agenda:

Thursday, August 5

Friday, August 6

• Dr Branson called the meeting to order at 9:00 and asked the two new members to introduce themselves. Dr. LaBat and Dr. Cao indicated they were both interested in focusing on product development.
• There will be a reception at 5:30 to honor Dr. Raheel who is retiring
• Dr. Sarkar was thanked for making the local arrangements for the 2004 meeting.
• Dr. Winter indicated that there was no news yet regarding the homeland security proposal. She also reported that a new faculty member from Iowa State University may be interested in joining NC 170.
• Election of Officers: Dr. Susan Ashdown was elected chair for next year and Dr. Sarkar was elected secretary for next year.
• The date of the next Annual Meeting will be August 4-5. Alternate date is August 8-9. The third choice is August 1-2.
• Pittsburgh was suggested as a good location for the next Annual Meeting. This choice would allow us to take advantage of the fact that the Personal Protective Technology Laboratory is located there. New York members will take responsibility for local arrangements. Urbana was suggested as a location for the 2006 Annual Meeting
• State project reports were given, based on previously e-mailed reports. Researchers pointed out work completed, in process, and/or planned cooperatively with other agencies. Summary of state reports are in the Appendix.
• New York continues to maintain the NC-170 Regional Research website on a server in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University. Dr. Shaw suggested creating a group impact statement for the web site
• All members were asked to send updated information for the “Members” section as well as updated publication lists (not to exceed 12 entries) of their most recent or significant publications related to the project.
• Objective group meeting occurred for the planning of work for the following year.
• The possibility of establishing a national network for protective clothing research and outreach was discussed.
• Resources available to the group were discussed. Dr. Ramkumar was contacted by telephone for more information about his activated carbon liner fabric and he indicated it had been tested successfully against a selection of toxic chemicals. The group also discussed a non-woven material developed by Dr. Ramkumar’s group for possible use in a coverall for workers using pesticides. Dr. Ramkumar said he would provide samples for testing and design assessment. Stitchless thermal bonding material can be obtained from Oklahoma. The group does not yet have a summary statement of what we can contribute to homeland security problems. Dr. LaBat agreed to prepare the statement for group review.
• Objective 1 and 2 met to discuss work on a coverall that would be comfortable while providing both UV and pesticide protection. Dr. Sarkar will test fabrics for UV protection. Members from New York, Oklahoma and Minnesota will participate in a conference call to discuss wearer needs and design issues. This call should result in the development of at least one prototype. California members will continue to explore issues related to disposable versus reusable protective garments, especially for health care workers and first responders. Dr. Branson will take responsibility for developing a literature review of first responder articles and Dr. Rucker will take responsibility for a literature review of medical textile articles.
• Objective 3 discussed the possibility of an online system concerning performance specifications for protective clothing materials. Maryland will work with New York on applications and sources of outside funding.
• Thanks were expressed to Dr. Branson for leadership as chair of the technical committee for the past year and to Dr. Rucker for services as secretary.
• The meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m., August 6, 2004.

Responsible Individual(s):

___________________________________
Margaret Rucker, Secretary

___________________________________
Mary Winter, Administrative Advisor

Appendix

Abbreviated State Reports of NC-170 Committee

Research continued on protective clothing for first responders. A novel technology that can make fire fighters’ uniforms self-decontaminating has been developed. Nomex fabrics can be chlorinated in a simple wet treatment; fabrics finished in this way exhibited rapid and rechargeable antibacterial functions. Work on emblems for fire fighters’ uniforms was conducted in cooperation with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF). In general, although the emblems burned for a brief period of time, the extra thickness resulted in improved RPP values. Another project involved surveying hospital purchasing agents and healthcare workers regarding perceptions of medical textiles.

In cooperation with Dr. Susan Ashdown, NY, body scan data were analyzed using Polyworks to determine the area of shadow provided by five sun hats when the wearer assumes different golf stances and orientations to the sun. The percent of body area shaded by the hat varied with hat style, but shading was also influenced by stance and orientation to the sun.

A study examining the Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) of cotton fabrics dyed with colorants of plant and insect origins was conducted. A positive correlation was observed between the weight of the fabric and their UPF values. Thread count appears to negatively correlate with UPF. Dyeing with natural colorants dramatically increased the protective abilities of all three fabric constructions. Additionally, as the colorant concentration in the fabric increased the UPF values also improved. The objective of a second study was to develop a method for predicting the UPF of fabrics by calculating percent cover using a digital stereo microscope. Percent cover data obtained by this method correlate well with UPF values of the fabrics as measured by a UV transmittance analyzer.

Work on the focus groups and fit analysis components (initiated last year) of a large 3-year collaborative effort to develop a personal portable cooling system was completed this year. A physiological study to determine the effectiveness of the cooling system was undertaken with positive results.

Data from two surveys related to user acceptance and barriers to use of PPE were analyzed. Sun-safety practices reported by visitors to a Farm Progress Show sun-safety exhibit suggested the need for further education to achieve behavior modification to limit exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. A survey of certified pesticide applicators concerning substitution of engineering controls for PPE indicated that 53 percent did not wear less PPE because of engineering controls. While 18 percent of the respondents said they needed more information on PPE, 46 percent said they did not, 17 percent were uncertain, and 20 percent gave no answer. A study of 10 greenhouse applicators’ comfort when wearing chemical resistant nitrile gloves with a disposable cotton liner was conducted in IA and NY. All but one (who was uncertain) agreed they liked wearing liners and that they were comfortable for a longer time with liners than without. Seven disagreed that liners were too much trouble to use and made things more difficult to grasp. Six were uncertain about the safety of using liners while two agreed and two disagreed their hands were safer with liners.

New York continued developing tools and methods for use of body scan data in analysis of protective clothing properties, fit and performance. Studies of the performance of sun protective hats (with MI) and fit of cooling vests (with OK) were completed; studies are underway investigating body measurement changes associated with movement and the fit and performance of protective coveralls for agricultural workers. A wear test and pesticide residue analysis on gloves and liners worn by greenhouse workers were done (with IA). Statistical analyses were completed on responses from pesticide applicators in IA, MI, and NY regarding their understanding of PPE requirements when using engineering controls. Statistical models estimating the level of protection and thermal comfort performance based upon 18 woven fabrics were developed using simple fabric and liquid parameters. Residues for 17 pesticides were analyzed in 41 households in central New York to identify factors that influence both the transport into and the redistribution of pesticides in the indoor environment. NY also participated in interlaboratory testing for the international standard being developed by MD and maintained on the NC-170 website.

Illinois worked on selection of the most important parameters that determine performance specifications for PPE. The most significant factors that determine barrier efficacy of PPE materials based on laboratory physical and chemical testing and analyses were developed earlier. Additional physical characteristics related to structural integrity of pesticide applicators’ clothing were identified. A draft proposal 3610F, “Performance Specification for Work and Protective Garments for Agricultural Pesticide Workers” has been submitted to the F 23,30 committee of the ASTM in June 2004 for review, comments and possible approval.

An Inter-laboratory Round Robin test, using the gravimetric method developed at Illinois was conducted in March, 2003 in conjunction with the submission of a Draft Proposal, ISO/DIS22608 to the International Standards Organization (ISO). The participants of the Round Robin test included the laboratories of Illinois, Maryland, New York, Spain, and India. In March 2004, ISO 22608 was approved and has been published as an ISO standard.

ISO 22608 has been published as an ISO standard. In addition, an online system entitled “Work and Protective Clothing for Agricultural Workers” has been developed. This system provides access to a large body of technical data pertaining to clothing worn by agricultural workers. Preliminary work related to development of performance specifications is underway. The first performance specification concept paper was e-mailed to ASTM task group members for their input. Performance specifications that can be used as models have been obtained, and will be used to develop the proposed draft.

A contoured needle zone needlepunching machine has been used to develop a three-layer flexible decontamination wipe. Research on antiballistic chest shields has resulted in a light weight composite shield for which a US Patent has been obtained. An electrospinning technique was used to develop metal oxide nanofiber webs; these webs have catalytic destructive abilities against toxic chemicals, pesticides and chemical warfare agents.