3rd European Conference on Protective Clothing (ECPC) and NOKOBETEF 8 Organizers Central Institute for Labour Protection – National Research Institute European Society of Protective Clothing Patrons Ministry of Economy, Poland European Safety Federation Sponsor Social Insurance Institution Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy – Pañstwowy Instytut Badawczy Central Institute for Labour Protection – National Research Institute ul. Czerniakowska 16 00-701 Warszawa tel. (48 22) 623 36 98 fax. (48 22) 623 36 93 http://www.ciop.pl 3rd European Conference on Protective Clothing (ECPC) and NOKOBETEF 8 The European Conference on Protective Clothing (ECPC) is organized every 3 years by the European Society of Protective Clothing (ESPC) which was founded in 2000 in Stockholm. The purpose of ESPC is to act as a forum for experts cooperation in the field of protective clothing (including gloves and shoes) all over the Europe, but the experts from all over the world are also welcome. The forum was created in 1984 in Scandinavia where NOKOBETEF (Nordic Coordination Group on Protective Clothing as a Technical Preventive Measure) was founded. ESPC and Nokobetef are independent organizations. 3rd ECPC PROGRAMME COMMITTEE / ESPC Board Chair Helena Mäkinen – Finish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland Honour member of Program Committee Prof. Danuta Koradecka – Director of CIOP-PIB, Poland Members Emil den Hartog – TNO, The Netherlands Gra¿yna Bartkowiak – CIOP- PIB, Poland Peter Heffels – BGA BAU-Arbeitsschutzzentrum , Germany Ingvar Holmér – National Institute of Working Life, Sweden Ken Parsons – Human Thermal Environments, U.K. Randi E Reinertsen – SINTEF Health Research, Norway Marianne Rodot – Mapa Professionel Technical Services, France René Rossi – EMPA, Switzerland Organizing Committee Chair Daniel Podgórski – Deputy Director for Management Systems and Certification, CIOP-PIB, Poland Members Katarzyna Majchrzycka – CIOP-PIB, Poland Gra¿yna Bartkowiak – CIOP-PIB, Poland Katarzyna Szczeciñska – CIOP-PIB, Poland Secretariat Katarzyna Buszkiewicz – CIOP-PIB, Poland Katarzyna Tulkis – CIOP-PIB, Poland 3rd European Conference on Protective Clothing (ECPC) and NOKOBETEF 8 Despite the latest achievements in technology aimed at new solutions in safety at the work place, there are still traditional and new hazards and risks against which application of personal protective equipment and protective clothing is necessary. Risk compounded by simultaneous exposure to several harmful or dangerous factors must not be overlooked, either. At the same time it is crucial to take into account workers' growing expectations of comfort while using personal protective equipment. Thus high-performance protective clothing continues to be an important tool for creating safe working conditions and therefore research in this field is indispensable. Application of new solutions, such as high-tech materials and microelectronics, in designing products can help achieve equilibrium between protection, comfort and durability of protective clothing. In accordance with the principle of balanced protection, both scientific and applied research aimed at the development of innovative materials and clothing is necessary. Smart protective clothing is a good example of successful research; it, for example, enables selt-adjustment of the microclimate under a protective barrier and indication of safe wearing time of clothing. Improvement of testing and measurement technology,which should map real-use conditions of protective clothing and make objective assessment of new products possible, also constitutes an important area in research. Intensive exchange of knowledge and experience among experts is needed for successful development of optimal products. That is why representatives from various institutions, organizations and enterprises involved in protective clothing, including gloves and footwear are meeting in Gdynia, Poland. The 3rd European Conference on Protective Clothing is an excellent opportunity for scientific discussions, an exchange of information and co-operation among experts. In these conference proceedings you will find abstracts of all oral presentations and posters presented in Gdynia. The complete papers are available on a CD. prof. dr hab. med. Danuta Koradecka dr Helena Mäkinen CIOP-PIB ESPC PROTECTIVE CLOTHING – NOWADAYS AND VISION Helena MÄKINEN Chair of the European Society of Protective Clothing, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH), Helsinki, Finland To better comprehend the present state and future projections of protective clothing, it is beneficial to review the developments in protective clothing over the past few decades. In the past, the so-called blue overall was typical work wear regardless of the type of work performed. Only certain occupations, such as fire fighters, were covered by national regulations for protective clothing. In 1984, the topics covered in the first NOKOBETEF 1984 conference and the first ASTM symposium "Performance of protective clothing" provide an idea as to what type of protective clothing research was being conducted at that time. The papers presented at the 1984 NOKOBETEF conference entailed chemical protective gloves and clothing. Chemical protection was also the main theme at the ASTM- symposium in addition to sessions on thermal protection, fire fighters' protective clothing and ergonomics. The emergence of these specialised symposia illustrate the growing interest on the subject matter, as well as the importance of protective clothing for the protection and well-being of workers. During the early 1990s, there was a surge of new developments in protective clothing. At this time, the European Directive on personal protective equipment (PPE) came into effect, and subsequently protective clothing was regarded as true personal protective equipment. Nine CEN Technical Committee (TC) 162 working groups prepared European standards for protective clothing. There are currently twelve TC 162 working groups and they have prepared over 100 clothing and glove standards concerning requirements and/or test methods for protection against a variety of hazards. Similarly, the CEN TC 161 has prepared dozens of footwear standards. Now at the beginning of the millennia, revisions of many standards have already been published. What is the current state of protective clothing? The basis of the following market review, is an article published in Technical Textiles 3/2005: In Western Europe, protective clothing and gloves account for an estimated 60% of the total PPE market, out of which protective clothing comprises the largest sector. Protective clothing sales are expected to increase at a rate of 5.5% a year. The type of PPE used varies based on the work demands of the particular industry under consideration. Petrochemical companies and emergency services have the largest number of employers using PPE. The most common hazards, against which protection is needed, are mechanical in nature. The next common hazards are ones involving heat, flame, chemicals, and flying particles. Out of the 227 sampled West European companies, a typical customer’s total PPE expenditure comprised of 50% protective clothing, 20% headwear, 20% footwear, and 10 % safety gloves. A significant driving force for the PPE market growth has been the EU-regulations and standards. The trend seems to be the development of products, which offer multilevel protection, which in turn need to meet the ever-growing list of EN-norms. Fabrics for multilevel protection must exceed the protection requirements for hazards identified in the risk assessments. Furthermore, the technology levels and product functionality are increasing. Work wear is becoming more and more trendy and the development is customer oriented. The workers are more fashion conscious and the work wear has become a part of the company’s image. The materials are more advanced and the designs are mowing towards leisurewear and sportswear fashions. The first generation of high performance products, such as membranes and breathable coatings, are practically everyday components in protective clothing, as well. For greater details on the contemporary situations and future directions of protective clothing, please refer to a 2005 published book "Textiles for Protection" from Woodhead Punlishing Limited and edited by Richard A. Scott. Future Directions? According to the presentation given by Dr D. Couvret from of Institut Francais Textile - Habillement at the Techtextil Symposium 2005 in Frankfurt, the present protective clothing market trends include protective clothing for medical use, thermal protection, eletric and magnetic protection, alert systems using specialty products, flexible high technology, knowledge-based processes, intelligent production, and high added value products for high added value markets. Nanoscience and nanotechnology are the buzzwords for the future development in all areas, including protective clothing offering enormous potential for wide range of end uses. The ability to manipulate atoms in desired ways increases production precision. It is anticipated that in 15 to 20 years, presently inconceivable nanotechnology based solutions will become a reality in protective clothing area too. Nanostructured fibres are divided into three main groups: nanofibres, nanocomposite fibres, and nanocoated fibres. They offer new solutions to improve the properties and performance of existing materials, e.g. for more hygroscopic properties of man-made fibres, protection against chemicals and biological