Elkton, Maryland, March 24, 2009 – W. L. Gore & Associates announces that its breathable GORE® CHEMPAK® Selectively Permeable Fabric has been selected as the chemical barrier for the NFPA certified WZ9435 XRT Response Suit made by Blauer Manufacturing Company. This easily donned, single-piece coverall, which does not require taping, allows law enforcement professionals to respond more quickly and remain deployed for up to eight hours. As the first and only breathable CBRN barrier that is component-recognized to the NFPA 1994 [2007 Edition] Class 3 standard, Gore’s fabric provides protection against NFPA-identified hazards plus additional toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) and chemical warfare agents (CWAs). By combining this level of protection with its unique membrane technology, Gore continues to lead the industry in developing breathable, protective barriers for ChemBio personal protective equipment (PPE).
This latest fabric from Gore provides breathability not found in other liquid-proof ChemBio garments. By allowing moisture vapor from perspiration to escape from the garment, this fabric reduces heat stress and increases comfort allowing the wearer to remain engaged for up to eight hours without compromising their safety.
This fabric also gives added confidence because of its durable construction. Gore’s proprietary barrier membrane is bonded between an outer fabric and an inner liner to provide protection even during rigorous physical activities. In addition, testing indicated that this fabric provides cumulative breakthrough protection against the NFPA 1994, Class 3 chemicals plus additional liquid CWAs and gas TICs.
The new XRT suit is a single-mission coverall that can be donned and doffed multiple times in the event of false alarms. Because Gore engineered this fabric with an intrinsically stable, non-carbon-based membrane that does not adsorb chemicals or degrade over time, suits made with GORE® CHEMPAK® Selectively Permeable Fabric have a longer out-of-bag service life than carbon-based suits.
Gore has a long-standing commitment to developing high-quality products that meet the specific needs of the user. As Steve Lampo, a ChemBio product specialist at Gore, explains, “We have been developing breathable, protective barriers for almost 30 years; and before engineering a new barrier, we work closely with each user community to identify the crucial factors that affect its protective clothing. Taking this approach, we have tailored our ChemBio fabrics to meet various military, law enforcement, and emergency response CB requirements. For Blauer’s WZ9435 XRT Response Suit, we knew that, in addition to protection against potential exposure to TICs and CWAs, breathability was essential so that responders could remain engaged for hours rather than minutes.”
This selectively permeable fabric is the latest addition to Gore’s line of protective fabrics for emergency responders, which also includes GORE® CHEMPAK® Ultra Barrier Fabric used in a variety of CBRN protective ensembles as well as CROSSTECH® Fabric used in garments, footwear, and gloves for fire, EMS, technical rescue, and law enforcement. For more information about this latest suit made with one of Gore’s ChemBio fabrics, call 800.431.GORE or visit GoreChempak.com\XRT.
With more than $2 billion in sales and 8,000 employees worldwide, W. L. Gore & Associates specializes in fluoropolymer innovations that improve the quality of life. Gore has applied its world-renowned expertise to thousands of high-performance solutions in pharmaceutical, consumer, industrial, electronic, medical, and surgical markets. Specifically in the protective fabrics arena, Gore has been a pioneer in developing high-performance barrier products for use in firefighting, EMS, technical rescue, law enforcement, military, and domestic preparedness applications. The company operates more than 45 facilities worldwide with headquarters in Newark, Delaware, USA.
