Since the early 1990s, Merikan has been supplying various flame retardant protective fabrics to the U.S. military. Now it also provides flame retardant protective products to the civil industry. Dr. Lee Shulong, Chief Scientist of Merikan Research Center, may give some inspiration to domestic enterprises by explaining American flame retardant protection standards.

Reporter: What is the universality of the American standard for flame retardant protective clothing?

Li Shulong: The American standard of flame retardant protective clothing mainly includes the selection, use and maintenance standard of NFPA2113 industrial flashing protective and flame retardant clothing of the National Fire Protection Society of the United States. NFPA 2112 Industrial Flame Protection Flame Retardant Clothing Standard, NFPA 70E Industrial Electric Power Safety Standard, and a series of American Standard Test Standards (ASTM), such as ASTM F1930 Dummy Flame Retardant Clothing Protection Performance Evaluation Method, ASTM F1959 Fabric Arc Protection Performance Test Method and ASTM F955 Fabric Protection Performance Test Method for Molten Metals 。

Among them, NFPA 2112 and NFPA 70E are cited by the Occupational Health and Safety Agency of the United States as the legal requirements of personal protective clothing for the corresponding occupations. Many workers in petroleum, chemical and power industries must be equipped with flame retardant protective clothing in accordance with NFPA2112 or NFPA70E. Regardless of whether it is cited by regulations or not, the American standard for flame retardant protective clothing has been widely adopted by American industry and has become a recognized standard for flame retardant protective clothing products. Through many years of practical use and updating, the American standard for flame retardant protective clothing is recognized by industrial users as a reasonable standard with practicality, scientificity and basic protective performance. Many major multinational corporations and groups adopt the American standard for flame retardant protective clothing as the basic requirement of the company's global platform for personal protective clothing. Some countries'national standards are based on the American flame retardant standards with minor modifications.

Reporter: What are the implications of these standards for the formation of relevant domestic standards?

Li Shulong: In recent years, China has made good progress in the standard of personal protective clothing and flame retardant clothing. Flame retardant protective clothing, welding protective clothing have established the national standard, arc protective clothing has the standard, but also developed a series of flame retardant protective clothing related test standards. The state has also set up a number of product testing and certification centers to provide relevant standards of testing services, to promote national labor protection and safe production.

Compared with the American standard of flame retardant protective clothing, the domestic standard is not perfect enough. The American standard for flame retardant protective clothing only specifies performance indicators, especially the relevant protective performance parameters. It does not specify the use of certain fibers, fabrics or production processes. Manufacturers can use their respective capabilities and processes to produce performance products that meet the requirements of the standard. In order to ensure that the flame retardant clothing has reliable flame retardant performance in practical use, the US standard requires that the flame retardant clothing have 100 times of high temperature industrial washing durability.

At present, the national standard of flame retardant protective clothing does not require washing, which is far from the international standard. It is an important parameter to select a protective product to evaluate the protective performance of flame-retardant clothing by means of dummy flame test. The ability of dummy flame-retardant test in China is developing rapidly and improving. This scientific and practical characterization ability of the protective performance of protective clothing may promote the improvement of the standard of flame-retardant clothing in China.

Reporter: What advantages does Merikan have in terms of technology and products?

Li Shulong: The general technical advantage of Merikan's flame retardant protective clothing is that it provides reliable and excellent protective performance, but also optimizes the comfort and durability of the product. Meriken is not limited by the choice of fibers. According to the needs of end users, we can choose the most suitable blend of fibers and fibers. Through our yarn, textile, dyeing and finishing processes, we can provide optimized products for workers. The company also has a series of intrinsic flame retardant fabrics and permanent flame retardant finishing products.

Reporter: How to view the flame retardant and protective textile market in China?

Li Shulong: China has a large scale of industrial production and a huge labor market. The state pays more and more attention to safety in production, workers'health and casualty prevention. However, the development of China's flame retardant and protective textiles market is still in its infancy. At present, there are many imperfections and irregularities in the flame retardant textile market. Most enterprises have not realized the benefits of personal protection such as flame retardant protective clothing to enterprises, workers and society. With the state's emphasis on safe production, the promotion and popularization of safety awareness of enterprises and workers, the guarantee of product quality, and the implementation and improvement of relevant standards, China's flame retardant and protective textile market will gradually be in line with the advanced countries in the world. (Spring Rain Protection Editorial Arrangement)