Permeation of protective clothing materials by methylene chloride and perchloroethylene

The permeation of methylene chloride and perchloroethylene through seven protective clothing materials was studied to determine the permeation parameters, and to investigate the effect of solubility (polymer weight gain) and material thickness on the permeation parameters. The materials tested were two different nitrile rubbers, neoprene, Combination (a blend of natural rubber, neoprene and nitrile), two different polyvinyl chlorides, and polyvinyl alcohol. Methylene chloride permeated through all materials, except PVA, with breakthrough times in the range of 2 to 8 min, and permeation rates in the range of 1250-5800 micrograms/cm2 X min. PVA and unsupported nitrile offered good protection against perchloroethylene with breakthrough time occurring after 2 hr. Perchloroethylene permeated through the other materials with breakthrough times in the range of 8 to 36 min and permeation rates in the range of 200 to 1600 micrograms/cm2 X min. It was shown that for both chemicals, there is a correlation between the solubility (weight gain) and the ratio of permeation rate to breakthrough time (PR/BT). For all material/chemical pairs, an increase in solubility, increased (PR/BT). The change in material thickness had an effect on breakthrough time and permeation rate, but no effect on normalized breakthrough time. An increase in thickness reduced permeation rate and increased breakthrough time.