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The past 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic have bought about many changes and unprecedented challenges for the UK and the world. In the initial period of 2020, CES faced the challenge of meeting the growing need for critical protection and supplies in the fight against COVID-19. This demand has grown considerably but despite the huge difficulties the pandemic has thrown at us we have managed to find a way to continue to operate in both an efficient and pro-active manner. Moving into 2021, CES have been extremely well placed and have very close business relationships with a number of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies that have been contracted to manufacturer COVID-19 vaccines. The increasing demand for vaccine manufacturing in an effort to meet the governments aim to vaccinate everyone aged 18 or over in the UK with one dose by the end of July has meant the demand for sterile cleanroom consumables has increased considerably. CES are working closely with Dupont Tyvek® to ensure the demands for sterile cleanroom clothing and disposables are met in an effort to support the push to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines.

Increasing productivity while maintaining environmental quality and regulatory compliance is an important challenge for cleanroom teams and requires solutions that address the root causes of contamination events. There’s no doubt about it. Contamination is bad for business and especially so for an industry where cleanliness and purity is paramount. It can lead to shutdowns, recalls and loss of life. Not to mention that it puts manufacturers in a negative spotlight. Studies show that the behaviour and preparation of personnel is responsible for a large proportion of contamination issues in cleanrooms..

Any work with cytostatics requires the Cytostatic Protection of workers from the dangers of drugs (carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic impact). At the same time, it is important to protect the product against contamination from people. Cytostatics are used as drugs in cancer therapy (chemotherapy) to inhibit the multiplication of tumour cells and are also used increasingly to treat other diseases. However, their toxicity affects not only tumour cells but also healthy cells. To prevent hazards to staff while handling cytostatics, a range of suitable precautions must be taken. What applies to the handling of hazardous substances in general is also true for cytostatics, i.e. the highest priority must be placed on the full use of all technical and organizational measures. For instance, care must be taken to prevent the formation of cytostatic aerosols and dust and to avoid cytostatic contamination during production, preparation, provision, disposal, storage and transportation of such substances. Potential health hazards can be caused even by low-level contact with cytostatic substances. If there is any risk of contact, use of suitable personal protection equipment (PPE) is mandatory to ensure effective full-scale protection. PPE selection is commonly based on the findings and results of risk analysis, in addition to technical and organisational measures. These protective measures apply to all staff who come into contact with cytostatics, not merely during production and preparation, but also application, disposal, shipping and when being handled by cleaning and maintenance staff. Both cleanroom clothing and chemical protective clothing need to meet the same basic criteria for use in a cleanroom: the material must be low-linting, the design must be sufficiently tight and the danger of collecting particles on the surface of the garment must be minimised. To be suitable for dealing with cytostatics, such clothing must also be comfortable to wear, it must have good electrostatic discharge efficiency and sterilisation must be possible.

Industries – and people – depend on protective garments to keep processes and personnel safe. DuPont knows that one mistake can be critical, to your business or to a person’s life. It therefore uses recognized International Standards to assess the quality and performance of its products.

Not all garment manufacturers publish permeation data. For example, t hey provide no information about how the garment performs in permeation tests. DuPont, on the other hand, publishes permeation data for our chemical resistant/secondary flame-resistant garment fabric, Tychem® 2000 SFR. Bottom line? If chemical protection is your need, permeation is your test. Make sure you know the type of test that was conducted on your garments.

31% operators claim donning coveralls is the most difficult part of gowning. The Kimtech™ A5 Sterile Cleanroom Coverall has an intuitive folding and donning mechanism between areas such as the coverall, hood and over boot, along with an optimised donning process, reducing both contamination risk and the potential for human error.

Protective coveralls are intended to protect against contamination from hazards in your working environment, ranging from liquid and solid chemicals, oils, non-toxic liquids, airborne substances, dusts and fibres. In some working environments, such as laboratories and crime scenes, protective clothing is required to stop human contamination (i.e. hairs, shedding skin and clothing fibres) of the area. However, just wearing the garment is no guarantee of protection and several factors need to be taken into consideration to ensure that the suit you choose will be providing the necessary level of protection. Selecting the garment When you select protective garments, the key issues to be taken into account are: • Barrier protection (penetration and permeation) • Resistance (garment robustness) • Quality (of the garment material, zipper, seams, comfort, size and fit) • Convenience (garments should be user friendly) • Environmental compatibility (disposal should be safe and cost-effective) • Cost (although it is not recommended to make a decision based solely on price) • Tests and utilisation (once a garment has been analysed and it meets the necessary requirements, an in-use test under real working conditions should be performed) It is important that you choose a coverall that not only offers the correct protection but also fits the person properly. Choosing the correct size is a prerequisite not just for greater safety but also for greater comfort.

Whether it’s keeping homes comfortable, protecting workers from on-the-job hazards, enabling a safe response to epidemics, or countless other applications—the unique attributes of DuPont™ Tyvek® bring comfort, protection and the gift of life to millions each day. Lightweight and versatile yet resilient and durable, Tyvek® defies convention so you can defy the odds. From personal protection and weatherization to packaging and transportation, Tyvek® rises to the challenge— keeping the elements out while letting life in.