Gore_Protective_Fabrics_WhitePaper_FINAL 6-23-15.pdf
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Heat and Flame
Fire & Safety
GORE-TEX CROSSTECH®
Gore tested the long-standing theory that rubber decontaminates better than leather. The results were surprising: leather samples were found to retain less residual chemical contamination than rubber samples following decontamination procedures. The tests were conducted using a FEMA testing protocol, which focused on chemicals that firefighters are likely to encounter in the field, including carbon disulfide (CS2), tetrachloroethylene, isooctane (gasoline), acrylonitrile, dimethyl formamide (DMF), and diethyl amine.
Read the Fire Engineering article about the decontamination study.
Decontamination effectiveness of leather and rubber_FINAL_Oct2011.pdf
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Heat and Flame
Fire & Safety
GORE-TEX CROSSTECH®
GORE-TEX CROSSTECH Footwear
A group of firefighters wearing turnout gear completed a defined work/rest cycle in a controlled environment as their body core temperatures, heart rates, and skin temperatures were monitored. Over a period of several weeks, the same participants repeated the trial three times so they could wear each set of gear containing one of the three different protective barriers. And the results are exceptional:
Increase in Body Core Temperature
U.S. military research has shown that once a body core temperature of 100°F is reached, each increase of only 0.1°F is physiologically significant, leading to an increased risk of heat exhaustion. At the end of the human trial, the average increase of body core temperature varied depending on the protective barrier in the gear. The GORE® PARALLON™ liner system performed the best, followed closely by the GORE® CROSSTECH® black moisture barrier; however, the increase with the competitive barrier was the largest. These results confirm that GORE® protective barriers are the most breathable.
Body Core Temperature Response to Work/Rest Cycle
Rest cycles are crucial to enable your body to recover from the strain of the challenging environments in which you work. When the participants were wearing the GORE® PARALLON™ liner system or GORE® CROSSTECH® black moisture barrier, the rest periods were more effective and they were able to complete the entire trial; when they wore the competitive barrier, their temperatures continued to rise rapidly. In fact, 40 percent of them were pulled out during the second work cycle because their heart rates exceeded their maximum rates, which were established before the trial began.
RET (Resistance to Sweat Evaporation) versus THL (Total Heat Loss)
Testing the performance of the materials in your gear can provide valuable information for gear selection. The THL test has done a great deal of good for the firefighter, helping to improve how well gear can shed excess body heat; but it evaluates performance in a relatively mild environment, similar to a conditioned office space. And, it has been found that THL does not provide very useful information about how gear performs, particularly in warm or sunny conditions. The RET test can provide some of this valuable insight, which could be important to you in your gear selection.
Before the trial began, each turnout gear composite was measured for THL and RET. While THL did not predict the differences seen in the human trials, the RET testing did. In fact, the THL results, which are what is commonly available to fire departments today, indicated that there should be NO difference in performance between the gear tested in this study. However, the trial confirmed that there were significant differences—the Gore technologies were more breathable and had a lower burden on the firefighters, as demonstrated by lower core temperatures, lower skin temperatures, and lower heart rates.
(Elkton, Maryland, April 10, 2008) At FDIC 2008, W. L. Gore & Associates is announcing the Gore NFPA 1851 Industry Support Program, the latest in its 25-year commitment to working with the fire service industry to ensure safe personal protective equipment (PPE) for fire professionals. The 2008 Edition of NFPA 1851 places a new focus on the ongoing compliance and durability of turnout gear, emphasizing a more rigorous inspection and evaluation protocol for the individual components. With its new NFPA 1851 Industry Support Program, Gore continues to assist the industry by providing a comprehensive program including three key elements: an instructional guide on complying with NFPA 1851, free-of-charge materials for repair of normal wear and tear, and the most durable moisture barrier available in the market - CROSSTECH® 3-Layer Moisture Barrier.
The educational component of this new program addresses compliance with NFPA 1851 as it relates to Gore's family of moisture barriers. The Standard sets forth specific requirements for inspecting both the liner system as a unit and the thermal liner and moisture barrier as individual components. As a part of its NFPA 1851 Support Program, Gore has developed a CD-based instructional guide that discusses cleaning, inspecting, testing, and repairing Gore's NFPA 1971-compliant moisture barriers. For example, the guide includes demonstrations of each of the liner system tests required for compliance with the Standard and examples of what may be observed during moisture barrier inspection.
Another component of the Gore NFPA 1851 Industry Support Program addresses repairs. As evidence of its commitment to its products, Gore will provide free-of-charge materials (both tape and barrier) to manufacturers and verified independent service providers (ISPs) for repairs necessitated by normal wear and tear. This commitment applies to CROSSTECH® 2-Layer and GORE™ RT7100 Moisture Barriers for up to three years and to CROSSTECH® 3-Layer Moisture Barrier for up to five years.
The third, and probably most fundamental, element of the Gore NFPA 1851 Industry Support Program is the addition of CROSSTECH® 3-Layer Moisture Barrier to its family of NFPA 1971-certified barrier products. Through innovative membrane technology and the addition of a patent-pending second textile layer, this product provides rugged durability without compromising high total heat loss (THL). Designed for fire professionals working in the most rigorous environments, Gore's CROSSTECH® 3-Layer Moisture Barrier offers the best possible combination of durability, THL, and thermal protective performance (TPP) available in today's market.
Gore is excited to announce this comprehensive support package to the industry. According to Ron Bove of Gore's North American Fire & Safety Services business, “From its inception, Gore has always stood behind its products, and our commitment remains the same today. Years ago, Gore developed the first repair verification program for moisture barriers, and we trained cleaning and repair facilities in the proper techniques for repairing and seam-sealing our products. Complying with the 2008 edition of NFPA 1851 will require a steep learning curve for the fire service industry, and we feel it is important that we offer our support as a committed partner in this process.” .
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. For more information about CROSSTECH® Moisture Barriers, call 800.431.GORE or 410.392.3600, or visit crosstech.com.
Elkton, Maryland, January 31, 2015 – OEKO-TEX® has selected W. L. Gore & Associates (Gore) as the January 2015 Company of the Month for its sustainability program in the Fabrics Division. OEKO-TEX® launched this campaign to recognize textile companies for their ongoing commitment to product safety and sustainable production processes. The International OEKO-TEX® Association is responsible for testing textiles for harmful substances listed in the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100.
Since 1996, Gore Fabrics has been working with the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certification to demonstrate that its products are safe for its customers. The current award recognizes Gore as one of the first to eliminate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from all raw materials for its fabrics products, which they completed in 2013. Dr. Jean-Pierre Haug, general secretary of OEKO-TEX®, explained the selection, saying, “In the areas of product safety and sustainable production conditions, Gore sets the standards for the textile industry….We have named Gore as the OEKO-TEX® January 2015 Company of the Month in recognition of its constant efforts to find new ways forward that ultimately provide a role model for the rest of the textile industry.”
Gore’s Technical Fabrics team has also been working to ensure the safety of fabrics used in gear worn by first responders. For example, in March 2010, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and the chemical industry undertook an initiative to ban particular brominated flame retardants from the firefighting market. But prior to this initiative, Gore had removed any bromine and antimony-based retardants from its fabrics.
The OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 evaluates textiles for 18 types of forbidden flame retardants, including approximately nine types of brominated products. In 2011, Gore’s US-based fire and public safety team applied for and received OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certification — making GORE® RT7100, CROSSTECH® 3-layer, and CROSSTECH® black moisture barriers the only moisture barriers in the North American fire market to be free of bromine and antimony-based flame retardants and have this certification today. This certification ensures that Gore’s moisture barriers do not contain or contribute any potentially harmful substances to the structural turnout gear in which they are incorporated.
According to Bernhard Kiehl, global sustainability leader for Gore Fabrics, “As a company whose core competence lies in the field of innovation, it is our commitment to continually drive ecological and social development efforts without compromising the functionality or durability of our products. We are extremely pleased that OEKO-TEX® has recognized our sustainability program as exemplary in the textile industry.” For more information about OEKO-TEX®, visit www.oeko-tex.com.
Gore is a technology-driven company focused on discovery and product innovation. Well-known for waterproof, breathable GORE-TEX fabric, the company’s portfolio includes everything from high-performance fabrics and implantable medical devices to industrial manufacturing components and aerospace electronics. Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Newark, Delaware, Gore employs more than 10,000 associates in 30 countries worldwide. Gore is one of a select few companies to appear on all of the U.S. “100 Best Companies to Work For” lists since the rankings debuted in 1984. The company also appears regularly on similar lists around the world. Learn more at www.gore.com.
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Media Contact:
Marie Y. Smith
302.994.0117
Indianapolis, Indiana, April 20, 2016 – At the FDIC International 2016 Conference, W. L. Gore & Associates presented the results of a human study that evaluated the physiological impact of protective barriers currently available in turnout gear. Conducted by a third party, this study confirmed that wearing the GORE® PARALLON™ liner system delivered the highest breathability followed closely by CROSSTECH® black moisture barrier, with both significantly better than the competition.
A group of firefighters wearing turnout gear completed a defined work/rest cycle in a controlled environment while their body core temperatures, heart rates, and skin temperatures were monitored. Over a period of several weeks, the same participants repeated the trial three times so they could wear each set of gear containing one of the three different protective barriers. Before the trial began, each turnout gear composite was tested for Total Heat Loss (THL) and Resistance to Sweat Evaporation (RET) to determine which test method was more aligned with human physiological results. Several results of the trial were significant:
According to Matthew Decker, research scientist in Gore’s Fabrics division, “The human body can be extremely sensitive to small increases in core temperature. U.S. military studies have shown that once your body core temperature reaches 100°F, each increase of only 0.1°F is physiologically significant. The results of this study clearly show that the choice of protective barrier in turnout gear has a measurable impact on a firefighter. And GORE® protective barriers manage firefighter heat stress significantly better than the competitive barrier.” .
Visit www.GoreProtectiveFabrics.com/Heat-Stress-Management for more information about this study.
Gore is a technology-driven company focused on discovery and product innovation. Well known for waterproof, breathable GORE-TEX fabric, the company’s portfolio includes everything from high-performance fabrics and implantable medical devices to industrial manufacturing GORE® Protective Barriers Shown to Reduce heat Stress Better CROSSTECH, GORE‐TEX, PARALLON, GORE and design are trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates components and aerospace electronics. Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Newark, Delaware, Gore employs more than 10,000 associates worldwide. Gore is one of a select few companies to appear on all of the U.S. “100 Best Companies to Work For” lists since the rankings debuted in 1984. The company also appears regularly on similar lists around the world. Learn more at www.gore.com.
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Media Contact:
Marie Y. Smith
302.994.0117
mysmith115@comcast.net
(Elkton, Maryland - April 10, 2008) In an effort to assist the fire industry in implementing NFPA 1851, 2008 Edition, W. L. Gore & Associates has developed a CD-based instructional guide that addresses compliance with this updated Standard as it relates to liner systems and, specifically, to Gore's family of moisture barriers. Drawing on Gore's 25 years of expertise in leading-edge barrier technology, this guide discusses cleaning, inspecting, testing, and repairing CROSSTECH® 2-Layer Moisture Barrier, CROSSTECH® 3-Layer Moisture Barrier, and GORE™ RT7100 Moisture Barrier.
The new edition of NFPA Standard 1851 identifies the necessary considerations for selecting gear and procedures for reducing risks that result from poorly maintained or contaminated gear. As a result, the Standard now places a new emphasis on the ongoing compliance and durability of structural and proximity firefighting ensembles, which translates to a more rigorous inspection of the entire garment and all of its components. Gore's new instructional guide responds to this emphasis by providing information regarding inspecting, testing, and repairing its moisture barriers. For example, the guide includes step-by-step demonstrations of both the leakage evaluation test and the water penetration test to identify potential repairs needed to ensure barrier effectiveness. It also provides some basic information regarding the thermal liner light evaluation test.
According to Holly Blake, Gore's product specialist for structural firefighting garments, compliance with NFPA 1851, 2008 Edition means that departments have many issues to address - decisions like how to assign the various compliance responsibilities, how much of the compliance work to do within the department, whether to contract an independent service provider (ISP) for all or part of the services needed, and how to train all personnel on their individual responsibilities. Blake says, “For over 25 years, Gore has worked closely with the fire service industry to develop the most effective products to meet the industry's performance expectations of moisture barriers. As the industry addresses inspecting, testing, and repairing turnout gear, we felt it may be beneficial to share our expertise on these issues. By creating this instructional guide, we continue to support manufacturers, ISPs, and fire departments as they develop their specific procedures for ensuring compliance with NFPA 1851.” .
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. For more information about CROSSTECH® Moisture Barriers, call 800.431.GORE or 410.392.3600, or visit crosstech.com.
Elkton, Maryland, April 25, 2013 – W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., has announced the next-generation GORE® CROSSTECH® glove insert with film technology engineered for structural firefighting gloves. Gloves made with this insert combine improved dexterity and feel with the protection, durability, and thermal stability that firefighters have come to expect from all GORE® CROSSTECH® products.
A breakthrough in the expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) film technology used in Gore’s glove inserts led to this flexible, next generation GORE® CROSSTECH® insert with film technology. With the moisture barrier fully bonded to a form-fitting thermal liner, this 3-D combination results in better flexibility, less bulk in the palm, and improved dexterity.
Gloves made with the next-generation GORE® CROSSTECH® glove insert with film technology help firefighters tackle difficult tasks without removing their gloves. According to Mark Williams, Gore’s product manager for GORE® CROSSTECH® glove products, “In conversations with firefighters, we kept hearing that their bulky gloves get in the way of being able to do such things as operating equipment and adjusting controls. They resorted either to using non-certified gloves or even to taking off their gloves. We worked with glove manufacturers to develop NFPA-certified gloves with this new film technology so that the firefighters can focus on their jobs without compromising their safety.” For more information, visit CROSSTECH.com.
About W. L. Gore & Associates
Gore is a technology-driven company focused on discovery and product innovation. Well-known for waterproof, breathable GORE-TEX fabric, the company’s portfolio includes everything from high-performance fabrics and implantable medical devices to industrial manufacturing components and aerospace electronics. Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Newark, Delaware, Gore employs approximately 10,000 associates in 30 countries worldwide. Gore is one of a select few companies to appear on all of the U.S. “100 Best Companies to Work For” lists since the rankings debuted in 1984. The company also appears regularly on similar lists around the world.
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Media Contact:
Marie Smith
302.994.0117
mysmith115@comcast.net
CROSSTECH, GORE-TEX, GORE, and design are trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates.
(Elkton, Maryland - April 6, 2007) W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., has announced an addition to its line of moisture barriers — CROSSTECH® 3-Layer moisture barrier. This addition provides an extensive level of durability with high total heat lost (THL) and an increased thermal protective performance (TPP). As the latest option for fire professionals working in the most rigorous environments, Gore's new CROSSTECH® 3-Layer moisture barrier offers the best possible combination of durability, THL, and TPP available in today's market.
In response to the needs of the firefighting industry, W. L. Gore & Associates designed a moisture barrier that consists of a proprietary expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) bicomponent membrane laminated on each side to a woven aramid textile, one of which is a patent-pending fabric designed by Gore. CROSSTECH® 3-Layer moisture barrier provides the breathability and comfort that firefighters have come to expect from Gore, but it also adds an increased level of durability against abrasion and flexing.
Holly Blake, Gore's product specialist for structural firefighting garments, says, “Every fire company's needs are different, and at Gore, we want to continue our 25-year tradition as industry leader by providing the broadest range of moisture barriers options. By adding our new CROSSTECH® 3-Layer moisture barrier, our product line now spans the full range of durability, breathability, and performance.” .
With approximately $2 billion in sales and 7,300 employees worldwide, W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., specializes in fluoropolymer innovations that improve the quality of life. Gore has applied its world-renowned expertise in fluoropolymer fabrication to thousands of technology-driven applications in consumer, electronic, pharmaceutical, and medical product manufacturing. 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. For more information about GORE™ CROSSTECH® moisture barriers, call 800.431.GORE or 410.392.3600, or email CROSSTECH@wlgore.com .
