[labnetwork] Transfer your Cleanroom gloves for Health care workers

[Jing Guo]

All, 

I did some research about cleanroom PPE and medical PPE. Here is what I found and it may be useful when we try to donate to health care workers and the medical frontline.

1. Coverall
The protection level of Tyvek 400 (cleanroom coverall) is lower than Tyvek 600 & 800 (medical use).
Here is the information from Dupont website

Tyvek® 400 garments are composed of flash spun high density polyethylene which creates a unique, nonwoven material available only from DuPont. Tyvek® 400 provides an ideal balance of protection, durability and comfort of any limited use fabric technology. Tyvek® 400 fabric offers an inherent barrier against particles (down to 1.0 micron in size). Protection is built into the fabric itself; there are no films or laminates to abrade or wear away. Tyvek® 400 fabric's durability advantage over microporous film fabrics delivers consistently better barrier, even after wear and abrasion. Applications include: lead and asbestos abatement/remediation, general maintenance/operations, spray painting, general clean-up.

Tyvek® 800 garments combine resistance to low-concentration, water-based, inorganic chemicals (even under pressure) with the strength and durability of Tyvek® thanks to an innovative fabric technology and enhanced garment design. Developed to our highest standards, Tyvek® 800 coveralls are soft, comfortable and lightweight without compromising their level of durability. They are now available with serged and over-taped seams that provide the performance of Type 3/4/5/6 garments, which have been tested to standards against pressurized liquids, heavy liquid aerosols and airborne solid particles. The coveralls provide an effective barrier against many water-based inorganic chemicals in low concentration and particles (down to 1.0 micron in size), as well as oil repellency. Tyvek® 800 coveralls are suitable for applications such as industrial cleaning, chemical packaging and redistribution, waste treatment and disposal, and environmental remediation. Tyvek® 800 Type 3/4/5/6 coveralls offer the following safety and comfort benefits

The best coverall for medical frontline is Tyvek 800 especially on the resistance to penetration by blood and body fluids. 
But if the medical supply become more urgent, at least Tyvek 400 can provide general protection for nurses, doctors and health care workers who don’t have the highest risk to get contaminated by COVID-19. One more layer is much better than nothing. 

2. Mask
Cleanroom masks should be comparable as the surgical masks. As disposal masks we should try to help as much as we can.

4. Gloves
Cleanroom gloves should be good enough for medical use to prevent the contact to virus. 

5. Goggles & face shield 
Goggles and face shields are the equipment can be reused. After use, wipe and sanitize it, then all of them should be good for the next use. The required amount for one hospital/institute of goggles and face shield should be easy to calculate. 

Hope the info above can at least reduce the confusion when we try to donate/help the local hospital. 

Stay safe!!!



-Jing
---------------------------------------
Jing Guo Ph.D.
Research Scientist
SEA Cleanroom (SST 017)
Rice University
Houston, TX 
jeanne.guo at rice.edu
713-348-8227







> On Mar 21, 2020, at 3:30 PM, Sandrine Martin <sandrine at umich.edu> wrote:
> 
> All
> 
> We did the same at U Michigan and indeed it took a lot of back and forth to translate nanofab characteristics into medical characteristics. We had to go back to manufacturers specs/data sheets. Some things worked and done didn’t....
> 
> Good luck to everybody!
> 
> ---
> Sandrine Martin
> 
> On Mar 21, 2020, at 15:03, Albert William (Bill) Flounders <bill_flounders at berkeley.edu <mailto:bill_flounders at berkeley.edu>> wrote:
> 
>> Dan et al.,
>> We have also made an inventory of all our PPE and provided it to the campus 
>> health care center for evaluation. We will make available any items they deem useful.
>> 
>> I offer a note of caution. Evaluate your clean room suits with care; check the spec sheet. 
>> Our disposable clean room suits are a breathable material that is not designed to provide 
>> protection against pathogens or toxic particulates. It is important that the specifications 
>> are known and evaluated. We do not want to transfer items that provide any false sense of security.
>> 
>> Bill Flounders
>> UC Berkeley NanoLab
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Sat, Mar 21, 2020 at 9:03 AM Daniel Christensen <dcchrist at wisc.edu <mailto:dcchrist at wisc.edu>> wrote:
>> Dear Labnetwork Community,
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> In these trying times there are things we can do to help.  I contacted my EHS people to let them know about the inventory of cleanroom gloves that I have on hand.  They just informed me that they will be coming on Tuesday to get these gloves and transport them to the health care workers on the front lines of COVID-19.  So the 30,000 individual gloves that I have stocked will be moving on to the local Hospitals.
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> I am happy to know that we could do something to help.  If you have large inventories of gloves, please consider you community needs.
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Thanks, and stay safe. 
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Dan C
>> 
>>  
>> 
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