Tag Archives: nomex

Helping Provide the Latest in Arc Flash Protection to Russian Electrical Workers

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A documentary film has been produced that chronicles a Russian worker who survived a direct encounter with an arc-flash event in 2011. The documentary follows Andrey and his fellow workers, as well as his wife, as they expose the dangers that electrical workers encounter and how arc flash protective clothing saved his life.

This documentary details the science behind DuPont™ Nomex® and exactly how it is designed to save lives. The Director General of Energocontract, Alexander Bolshunov, talks about the reasons his company believes that DuPont™ Nomex® was one of the key ingredients in the design and production of their protective clothing since 2002.

At the end of the documentary, it is explained by a representative of the Ministry of Energy how Russia continues to keep worker safety as a top priority in their electrical industry.

Caution buying your PPE Clothing Outside the U.S.

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DuPont, a science company, recently received a favorable, albeit still provisional decision against a group of textile manufacturers doing business and operating in the European Union and India, and distributing products to the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere in the GCC, for infringing its trademark rights by distributing Nomex® branded garments that did not actually contain genuine Nomex® fibers.

Counterfeited products in the Middle East continue to be a problem, not only causing economic damage but also posing serious risks to lives and property. Dubai alone seized millions of dollars worth of fake goods in 2011, involving more than 500 cases.

There are strong concerns over the influx of fake personal protective equipment (PPE); false PPE clothing could mean the difference between life and death to anyone wearing what they think is PPE clothing and are in fact wearing a fake.

Regions in the Middle East have been uncovering the sale of counterfeit items such as gloves, high-visibility vests and heat-resistant clothing which can be hard to detect by the untrained eye.

All employers, manufacturers and distributors have a responsibility to keep workforces safe at work and in order to stay vigilant, certified goods are are the only way to insure safety and will even mean the difference between life and death.

According to DuPont, “The DuPont Nomex® label represents how we affirm our status as a provider of quality protective products while empowering reputable suppliers to do the same and provide genuine, legal goods to the workforce”.

Such initiatives raise the profile of safety in the workplace, which will in turn hopefully cause the end of counterfeit products.

DuPont is internationally renowned for the development of its high-quality, intelligent flame resistant fiber, Nomex®. Incorporated into fabric for use by fire fighters and industrial workers all over the world, Nomex® labeled garments are produced according to the highest standards using DuPont-approved fabrics and have become an integral part of keeping people protected at work.

Nomex® can withstand exposure to extreme heat for over eight seconds and does not melt or drip even at high temperatures. It is also highly resistant to UV rays and abrasion and is soft to the touch. Fabrics made of Nomex® are extremely easy to care for and maintain their appearance even after many washes.

Certified Nomex® fabrics are visible to the end-user through the distinctive Nomex® label, which DuPont actively encourages end users to look out for to ensure compliance, performance and quality of products that will save lives.

Be sure you are getting the real thing and purchase your PPE clothing and tools from a proven reputable supplier such as Macron Safety (www.macronsafety.com) and do not gamble the lives of your workers on products that are not certified, tested, and proven from an unknown supplier.

Macron Safety Lightest Weight Arc Flash Protection

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Macron Safety is proud to announce that we are now selling the lightest weight clothing for Arc Flash Protection

Macron Safety is now selling the lightest weight Arc Flash safety clothing available on the market today.

These fabrics come in 3 different weights: 5 ounces, 6 ounces and 7 ounces.  Each fabric weight is a woven light weight dimensionally stable novel fabric composed of an optimal blend of Para-Aramid, OPF, and Novoloid (Phenolic) fibers. The 5 & 6 ounce fabrics are excellent for Electric Arc Splash Protective garments.   The 7 ounce fabric is also excellent for Electric Arc Protective garments; and when used as a single layer, will meet 8 Cal requirements.

This fabric also comes in 3 different Quilt liners. One of these is The Omni Quilt™ Thermal Liner which is 4 layers of Basofil Blend Spunlace Fabric.

The second Quilt fabric is the OMNI™ Quilt synergy (06OQ1PB). This is a high performance thermal liner constructed of two fabric layers quilted in a 3 inch diamond pattern with natural Nomex® thread. The first layer is a blue dyed woven Nomex® fabric. The second layer is a hydro-entangled nonwoven fabric composed of Basofil®, meta-aramid, and para-aramid fibers. This quilted fabric has been tested and meets the requirements of NFPA 1971-2007.

The third OMNI™ Synergy (07OQ2PB) is a high performance thermal liner constructed of three fabric layers quilted in a 2 inch diamond pattern with natural Nomex® thread. the first layer is a blue dyed woven Nomex® fabric. The second and third layers are a hydro-entangled nonwoven fabric composed of Basofil®, meta-aramid, and para-aramid fibers. This quilted fabric has been tested and meets the requirements of NFPA 1971-2007.

Macron Safety has sourced the best safety fabric available in order to allow our customers to wear lightweight but Arc Flash safe PPE Clothing.

This fabric utilizes unique fiber blends in their yarns and woven fabrics, including narrow fabrics of all types (tape, braided packing, twisted rope, woven sleeving, braided sleeving, wick and filler). They develop, manufacture and sell the lightest weight ensemble for NFPA 70 E Category 4 Electric Arc Protection.

This line of CutPro™ fabrics and DREF yarns exceed 3000 grams of cut protection (CPPT) in a 9.0 oz/yd² fabric offering Level 4 ASTM 1790-2005 protection levels. Another recent development is their ArcWeld™ line of fabric. The ArcWeld™ line is a unique multifunctional fabric line offering NFPA 70E Level 2 ARC resistance, 100% inherent flame resistance, ANSI/ISEA 107-2010 high visibility compliance along with Level 2 ASTM 1790-2005 cut protection.

Macron Safety will make your custom Arc Flash Safety clothing to your specification and to fit all your unique needs and work environments. Contact us today or call 1-916-905-6535.

New Oberon FR Dailywear Clothing

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The new line of flame resistant Dailywear from Oberon offers solutions for the greater industrial marketplace, not just the NFPA 70E Arc Flash solutions where Oberon is famous.

The new line consists of an expanded number of garment models…shirts, pants, cargos…underwear, t-shirts and knit Henley’s…as well as more coverall choices and shop coats.

An Expanded number of fabrics from a simple & economical FRT Cotton and FRT Cotton/Nylon blend…to the industry leading flash fire fabric, Dupont Nomex IIIA. Oberon also has its own line of proprietary fabrics, including its FR Denim. In between, it includes the popular Dupont Protera, Tencate Tecasafe Plus (TSP) and GlenGuard flame resistant fabrics. There are  more choices with a full spectrum of features and benefits that set each of them apart from the other. One size does not fit all. There is a solution for your needs and hazards. If you have questions as to which are the best for your needs and application, give us a call (916) 905-6535. One of our technical support team will be happy to answer your questions.

Still made in the USA and not out-sourced manufacturing to offshore facilities.

As the authorities are increasingly focused upon clothing worn in the industrial market, they are looking for applications and sites where there is the potential for not just arc flash, but other sources of ignition, including flammable dust and vapors. Any of these sources could ignite standard industrial uniforms or street clothing that are not flame resistant. As we often point out in our presentation, it is often not the ???? that contributes to the greater portion of the injury. A small spark or low energy arc flash could generate sufficient energy to ignite the non-FR clothing, like nylon jackets, street clothing or cotton-poly uniforms. FR clothing can dramatically improve the likelihood of the worker not only surviving, but thriving. Instead of days and weeks in a hospital burn ward, the worker may be home for dinner and return to work within days. The right choice of FR PPE will reduce the percentage of body burned and increase the chances of survival. That is the upside of an FR Dailywear program.

Talk to Macron Safety, together we can make the workplace a safer place for your workers.

I Know the Voltage…What Arc Clothing Should I get? Unfortunately that is not sufficient information to select the correct PPE. Knowing the voltage is only one piece of the information needed to determine the Arc Flash PPE that would be appropriate for your specific needs. In order to determine the potential Arc Flash exposure level and the required PPE we would also need to know  the available fault current, the working distance between the worker and the equipment, the clearing time of the circuit protection device, the spacing between conductor or from a conductor to ground, the number of phases, whether the conductors are in an enclosure, and the equipment configuration.

How do Arc Flash and Flash Fire hazards differ? A flash fire is a low intensity fire (~2 calories per second) that can last a prolonged period of time (a couple seconds or longer). An electric arc flash incident last a far shorter period of time (typically less than a second) while generating more heat energy (200+ calories per second).

Flame Retardant Treated (FRT) Fabric such as cotton, has been treated with a flame retardant chemical – a chemical that has been applied to the surface of the fabric so that it becomes resistant to flame. However the flame retardant chemical may be washed out if improperly laundered.

Inherently Flame Resistant (IFR) Fabric has a permanent flame resistant quality built right into the fibers in the fabric. The resistance to flame is a fundamental (inherent) characteristic or quality of the fabric. It cannot be removed or washed out.

Clear Faceshields or Clear Hood Windows do not offer effective protection against the incident heat energy from an arc flash exposure. As the incident energy increases, the creation of an opaque char on the shield window surface decreases the percentage of transmitted energy, but at these higher exposure levels, there is still more than sufficient heat energy transmitted to cause a predicted second-degree burn injury.