This guide establishes a recommended list of challenge chemicals to encourage those who evaluate chemical protective clothing to test a minimum number of chemicals in common. This list will simplify the comparison of data from different sources.

This guide may also serve material developers or evaluators in screening candidate protective clothing materials.

Test methods applicable to the use of this guide include, but are not limited to, Test Methods F903 and F739.

The battery of chemical gases shall not be used for testing material penetration resistance because Test Method F903 has been designed for measuring liquid penetration only.

Evaluation of materials against the gaseous chemical battery is primarily intended for those materials used in the construction of totally-encapsulating protective suits or other clothing items that are designed to prevent exposure to chemical vapors or gases. Only vapor-protective clothing that have been evaluated for and have demonstrated appropriate levels of inward leakage against gases and vapor are appropriate for protection against vapors and gases. Protective clothing that only covers part of the body or that have does not have vapor-resistant closures, closures, or interfaces to other ensemble components does not provide protection against hazardous chemical vapors and gases.

Note 1—Methods to evaluate the vapor-protective performance of protective clothing ensembles include, but are not limited to, Test Method F1052 and Test Method F2588.

The presence of any chemical in this battery does not connote any special significance of the chemical for protecting workers from chemical hazards. This battery of chemicals is intended to represent a range of chemical classes, hazards, physical characteristics and other factors. Not of all of the chemicals in this battery have any significance from a skin toxicity or irritation perspective.

Chemical resistance of a protective clothing material against a specific chemical or list of chemicals does not infer the chemical resistance of that protective material against other chemicals.

1.1 The purpose of this guide is to provide a recommended list of both liquid and gaseous chemicals for evaluating protective clothing materials in testing programs.

1.2 Results derived from testing programs using these lists of test chemicals are not intended for the definitive characterization of protective clothing materials.

1.3 This list of test chemicals is not inclusive of all chemical challenges; the chemicals were chosen to represent broad ranges of liquid and gaseous chemical classes and properties. Not all chemical classes are represented. Other chemicals, especially those of interest to the manufacturer or user, should be tested in addition to those recommended in this guide.

1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. A specific hazards statement is given in Section 7.