HEALTH & SAFETY
SPECIAL CHEMISTRY
DUPONT
10 YEAR RELATIONSHIP DRIVES PPE
IMPROVEMENTS, DELIVERS COST SAVINGS
Ensuring that workers are properly protected
and fully engaged in safety procedures
is a primary objective for any employer.
The health and safety team at one of Dow
Chemical Company’s largest production sites
has developed a partnership with DuPont
Personal Protection over time that delivers
ongoing improvements in staff safety
and training, as well as more streamlined
ordering procedures and related cost
savings.
PRODUCT SELECTION
CONFIDENCE
Covering some 550 hectares, Stade is
Dow’s largest German production site.
Every year, around 1300 in-house staff
and several hundred contractors produce
some three million tonnes of basic and
specialty chemicals including propylene
oxide, propylene glycol, solvents for paints,
perchloroethylene, raw materials for
polyurethanes, cellulose ethers, chlorine,
sodium hydroxide solution and hydrogen in
ten plants.
Personal protective equipment (PPE),
including chemical protection garments,
is vital for reliably protecting staff from
hazardous liquids and solids. For over
a decade now, Dow workers have been
using garments made by DuPont Personal
Protection to protect them from workplace
hazards.
To provide protection from liquid chemicals,
Dow makes use of Tychem® 2000 C
and Tychem® 6000 F coveralls1. Typical
applications include material transfers or
inspection tasks in which lines are opened
and there is a risk of personnel being
contaminated with a hazardous substance.
These garments are also used during the
emptying and cleaning of pipework, which is
required for regular official TÜV2 inspections.
Key to the decision were the comprehensive
permeation data that DuPont was able to
supply to Dow’s safety professionals. Jens
Thiede, SHE Specialist at Dow in Stade with
responsibility for the selection and use
of PPE, explains: “We have around 2000
different chemicals on our plant here and
cannot purchase a dedicated garment for
each product. We need products that reliably
protect our staff from as many substances
as possible. So, we had a good look around
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on the market and shortlisted a range
of options. The permeation data DuPont
supplied for numerous organic and inorganic
chemicals were very helpful and convinced
us that the two Tychem® garments were the
best ones to choose for our staff.”
Dow has also been using DuPont coveralls
for many years in areas where staff are
exposed to hazards arising from solids and
dusts; for instance, in the production of
cellulose ethers which are used as fillers and
binders in construction materials, cosmetics
and pharmaceuticals. The suits involved here
are primarily from the Tyvek® product line,
such as Tyvek® 600 Plus.
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY
Before purchasing new or updated garments,
Dow carries out comprehensive wear tests
lasting several weeks or even months with its
front-line staff. These tests are a useful factor
in coming to a decision about which product
is most suitable for staff and their specific
working conditions and whether the chosen
garment can prove its worth under practical
conditions.
Thiede explains, “DuPont assists us with
these tests by supplying sample garments
in various sizes. Our staff enter their ratings
on questionnaires covering criteria such as
wearer comfort, fit, freedom of movement,
handling, size range and, of course, the
wearer’s subjective feeling of safety.”
Dow then jointly evaluates these
questionnaire responses with DuPont.
Positive and negative feedback about the
garments may then be fed into further
product development.
Dow’s standard practice originally was
to keep stocks of the garments in sizes M
to XXL. Over the course of time, the wear
tests have increasingly revealed demand
for very small and very large sizes as well.
One advantage of working with DuPont is
their ability to respond to these changes
in demand, because they can offer a wide
range of different sizes which are available
from stock or made to order.
CONTINUOUS SAFETY
IMPROVEMENT
Dow and DuPont have now been working
together for over ten years on the
selection and use of suitable protective
garment solutions for specific hazards and
applications. The aim is to ensure ongoing,
continuous improvement in staff safety on
the Stade site. This is why the companies
carry out joint workshops to inform heads
of department, H&S coordinators, staff
from partner companies and apprentices
about protective clothing in general, the
characteristics of Tychem® and Tyvek®
chemical protective clothing, the correct
For further information, please visit: ipp.
dupont.com or safespec.dupont.co.uk.