Frequently Asked Questions

Flame Resistant. It refers to the ability of a material to self-extinguish upon the removal of an ignition source.

Flame Resistant clothing is usually chosen based on an employer’s own hazard analysis, which determines the right garments for the potential incident energy exposures in a given work environment.

Both treated and inherently flame resistant fabrics are flame resistant for the useful life of the garment. The difference between them relates to the process used in making the final product flame resistant. Treated cotton fabrics are given a flame resistant chemical application, which the originally non-FR fabric is immersed in after it is woven together. Inherent fabrics contain fibers with an FR polymer base, so that there is no need for a topical treatment.

A flash fire is spread rapidly through a diffuse fuel, such as dust, gas, or the vapors of an ignitable liquid, without production of damaging pressure. Flash fires are typically three seconds or less, but are fast-moving and intense. The severity is contingent on environmental factors such as the fuel available and the efficiency of combustion.

IFR Workwear & IFR Health is a Manufacturer/Wholesaler and our customers are the many great distributing companies that we sell our products to. If you are interested in any of our products, we are more then happy to help out in anyway we can but for the purchasing, we will direct you to the closest distributor near your location.

A Medical Device Establishment Licence (MDEL) authorizes:

  • a manufacturer to import and sell Class I medical devices
  • importers and distributors to import or sell Class I to IV medical devices.

When purchasing PPE, the purchaser should ask the supplier for their MDEL#.

IFR Workwear has one and it is #12087

ANSI/AAMI PB70:2012 an American National Standard, establishes minimum barrier performance requirements, a classification system, and associated labeling requirements for various garments intended for use in health care facilities.

 

The full title for ANSI/AAMI PB70 is “Liquid Barrier Performance and classification of protective apparel and drapes intended for use in Health Care Facilities”.  Health Canada advises organizations that are manufacturing protective apparel that this standard should be consulted.

 

This standard establishes classifications of barrier performance according to the hierarchy of risks associated with exposure to blood, body fluid, etc… These classifications are as follows:

 

Level 1—Gowns and drapes: This classification describes surgical gowns, isolation gowns, other protective apparel, surgical drapes, and drape accessories that demonstrate the ability to resist liquid penetration in a laboratory test, AATCC 42 (Water resistance: Impact penetration test).

Level 2—Gowns and drapes: This classification describes surgical gowns, isolation gowns, other protective apparel, surgical drapes, and drape accessories that demonstrate the ability to resist liquid penetration in two laboratory tests, AATCC 42 (Water resistance: Impact penetration test) and AATCC 127 (Water resistance: Hydrostatic pressure test).

Level 3—Gowns and drapes: This classification describes surgical gowns, isolation gowns, other protective apparel, surgical drapes, and drape accessories that demonstrate the ability to resist liquid penetration in two laboratory tests, AATCC 42 (Water resistance: Impact penetration test) and AATCC 127 (Water resistance: Hydrostatic pressure test). For Level 3, the test criterion for AATCC 127 performance has been set at a higher value than for Level 2.

Level 4—Gowns: This classification describes surgical gowns, isolation gowns, and protective apparel that demonstrate the ability to resist liquid and viral penetration in a laboratory test, ASTM F1671 (Standard test method for resistance of materials used in protective clothing to penetration by blood-borne pathogens using Phi-X174 bacteriophage penetration as a test system).

ASTM refers to the American Society for Testing and Materials. ASTM F2100 refers to a medical mask standard called “Standard Specification for Performance of Materials Used in Medical Face Masks”. Health Canada advises organizations that are manufacturing face masks that this standard (and others) should be consulted.

 

Specifically, the ASTM F2100 specification covers the classifications, performance requirements, and test methods for the materials used in the construction of medical face masks that are used in health care services such as surgery and patient care. Medical face mask material performance is based on testing for bacterial filtration efficiency, differential pressure, sub-micron particulate filtration efficiency, resistance to penetration by synthetic blood, and flammability.

This standard establishes performance classes for medical masks as based on the barrier performance properties of the materials used: Level 1 barrier, Level 2 barrier, and Level 3 barrier.

Level 1 barrier medical face mask materials are evaluated for their ability to capture sub-micron particles, resistance to penetration by synthetic blood at the minimum velocity specified in Test Method F1862, bacterial filtration efficiency, and differential pressure.

Level 2 barrier medical face mask materials are evaluated for their ability to capture sub-micron particles and are evaluated for resistance to penetration by synthetic blood at the middle velocity specified in Test Method F1862, bacterial filtration efficiency, and differential pressure.

Level 3 barrier medical face mask materials are evaluated for resistance to penetration by synthetic blood at the maximum velocity specified in Test Method F1862, sub- micron particulate filtration, bacterial filtration efficiency, and differential pressure.