Elkton, Maryland, July 29, 2008 - W. L. Gore & Associates announces that their breathable GORE® CHEMPAK® Selectively Permeable Fabric is the first and only breathable CBRN barrier component-recognized to the NFPA 1994 [2007 Edition] Class 3 standard. Tactical users can now benefit from comfortable CB protection because this fabric is available in the Blauer WZ9430 Major Incident Response Team suit, which is part of the first breathable, certified NFPA 1994 Class 3 protective ensemble. Having recently announced the first and only breathable CBRN barrier that is component-recognized to NFPA 1971 [2007 Edition] standard CB option, Gore continues to demonstrate its leadership in providing breathable protective barriers for ChemBio personal protective equipment (PPE).

GORE® CHEMPAK® Selectively Permeable Fabric is both liquid-proof and air-impermeable, which provides protection for the user against liquid, aerosol, and vapor TICs and CWAs. At the same time, this barrier fabric improves total heat loss by allowing moisture vapor from perspiration to escape from the garment, thereby reducing heat stress and increasing comfort. These characteristics allow first responders wearing suits made with Gore's fabric to stay active on duty for longer periods of time without compromising their safety. In addition to this, the fabric is constructed with a unique, intrinsically stable, non-carbon-based laminate, giving it a longer service life and ensuring lasting protection that end-users expect when using Gore products.

Gore has a long-standing tradition of not only creating outstanding products but developing these products with the end-user in mind. As Joe Staudenmayer, a CB-focused product specialist at Gore, says, "Gore's long-term commitment in developing ChemBio applications for our products is now coming to fruition. We engineer all of our products to meet the specific needs of the end-user, a philosophy we call 'fitness for use.' With this approach in mind, we developed GORE® CHEMPAK® Selectively Permeable Fabric and tailored it to meet various military and emergency response CB requirements such as NFPA 1971 CB option and NFPA 1994, Class 3. By drawing on our expertise in protective barriers and then collaborating with those who use our products, we were able to customize our fabric to meet the demands of responders in various situations."

This new 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 protective ensembles as well as CROSSTECH® Moisture Barriers used in garments, footwear, and gloves for fire, EMS, technical rescue, and law enforcement. For more information about Gore's ChemBio products, call 800.431.GORE or visit GoreChempak.com.

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.

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.

(Elkton, Maryland - April 10, 2008) W. L. Gore & Associates continues to demonstrate its commitment to the needs of firefighters with its new moisture barrier using GORE® CHEMPAK® Selectively Permeable Fabric. Personal protective equipment (PPE) garments made with this new product provide a high level of total heat loss (THL) while providing protection against specified toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) and chemical warfare agents (CWAs).

GORE® CHEMPAK® Selectively Permeable Moisture Barrier Fabric is the only barrier available in the market today that is Component Recognized to the NFPA 1971 CBRN option. According to Joe Staudenmayer, product specialist at Gore, “One of Gore's core values is to design products based on fitness for use, which means that we deliver the best product to meet or exceed users expectations for their specific application. When developing this fabric, we wanted to ensure that firefighters are protected from both heat stress and potential terrorism incidents they may encounter. We drew on our extensive experience in developing breathable protective barriers to design this new CBRN moisture barrier, a material that provides limited CBRN agent protection and maintains good THL performance.”

NFPA 1971 states that PPE ensembles meeting the CBRN option of the Standard are intended to provide a “minimum level of protection for firefighting personnel from specified CBRN agents.” GORE® CHEMPAK® Selectively Permeable Moisture Barrier Fabric has successfully met the minimum barrier performance requirements and extensive preconditioning challenges established by the Standard. Comprehensive ensemble field testing is expected to begin shortly with departments throughout North America to firmly establish fitness for use. Gore is confident that PPE ensembles using this product will be certified to the NFPA 1971 CBRN option in the near future.

GORE® CHEMPAK® Selectively Permeable Fabric is constructed with a unique non-carbon-based laminate that is both liquid-proof and air-impermeable, which protects the user against both liquid, aerosol, and vapor TICs and CWAs. At the same time, this barrier fabric contributes to total heat loss by allowing moisture vapor from perspiration to escape from the garment, thereby reducing potential heat stress for the firefighter.

GORE® CHEMPAK® Selectively Permeable Moisture Barrier Fabric is the latest addition to Gore's family of products for the fire service industry, which also includes GORE® CHEMPAK® Ultra Barrier Fabric, CROSSTECH® Moisture Barriers, and other CROSSTECH® Products used for PPE.

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 GORE™ CHEMPAK™ Products, call 800.431.GORE or 410.392.3600 or visit gorechempak.com.