Ludwig Vinches, Stephane Halle

Abstract: Chemical protective clothing (CPC) is widely used to protect the skin from airborne nanoscale particles (ANP). While many studies have evaluated CPC materials, few have considered the influence of environmental conditions. However, temperature and relative humidity can significantly alter filtration processes and, as a result, the performance of CPC. Employing NaCl and TiO2 ANP, the performance of a model of CPC has evaluated in some different conditions of temperature (20°C to 40°C) and relative humidity (RH) (40% to 80%). Long-time exposure (clogging effect) has also been investigated. Results indicate that temperature and RH significantly affect the penetration of NaCl and TiO2 rutile ANP, particularly in short-term exposures. Secondly, clogging due to the deposit of NaCl ANP on the filtering fibers is measured each thirty minutes of exposure up to three hours with a RH of 40%, 60% and 80%. At 40% and 60% RH, the penetration seems to be stable. At 80% of RH, the penetration decreases by more than 10-15% with the exposure time. These findings highlight the importance of considering environmental conditions when selecting and using CPC for ANP protection. Future research should investigate the long-term effects of exposure to ANP under various environmental conditions.

Keywords: Chemical protective clothing, Clogging effect, Environmental working conditions, Nanoscale particles, Temperature and relative humidity.

Date Published: December 24, 2025
DOI: 10.11159/ijtan.2025.003

View Article