Protect Against Chemicals with phs Besafe Garments

Working in the chemical industry or in a job that uses harmful substances as part of its daily routine can be just as hazardous as working with more obvious perils, such as electricity or moving vehicles. In any of these cases, you wouldn’t dream of sending your workforce out to do a job without the right tools; equally, you shouldn’t expect them to perform their tasks without the right clothing, in whatever environment that may be. Each job requires appropriate garments to keep workers safe and comfortable during their day-to-day activities, while also ensuring that your business adheres to current Health & Safety Regulations.

Whether you supervise work with chemicals in agriculture, pharmaceutical, engineering or other potentially dangerous environments, you must ensure provision of the correct specialist garments, manufactured to required safety levels. Of course, while different hazards require different protection, all PPE garments have one thing in common – they need to be maintained to a standard that keeps them fit for purpose and therefore keeps their wearer safe on the job.

phs Besafe provides a range of PPE garments that offer protection against chemicals, helping your business to comply with safety legislation. We can also properly clean and maintain the clothing so that it can continue to protect your staff, day in and day out.

Which protective garments are suitable for the chemical industry?

With the safety of workers in mind, phs Besafe is constantly striving to introduce the very latest protective fabrics and garments into our range. Our comprehensive catalogue includes workwear suited to a diverse variety of professions, not least those who work with highly flammable, toxic or corrosive chemicals.

Whilst also offering flame retardant features to protect employees involved in welding, cutting or grinding, each of our Flame Gear garments additionally provide Class 3 protection against chemical penetration and repellence. Design features, such as elasticated cuffs and waistbands, reinforced zips, knee pad panels and vertical stretch panels mean that all the Flame Gear clothing supplied by phs Besafe is comfortable to wear whilst doing its job of protecting against chemicals.  

Manufactured to European safety standard EN 13034, the Flame Gear jacket, coverall and trousers offer full body protection. Supplied in high visibility orange with double-stitched retro-reflective tape, the Flame Gear garments can also be worn in poor light conditions or wherever enhanced visibility is required.

For added comfort, workers may find our range of undergarments of use. These long or short sleeve t-shirts, boxer shorts and long johns have smooth flat seams and so sit snugly next to the skin. They also have excellent breathability, perspiration wicking and anti-bacterial properties to add to worker comfort.

Which protective clothing is right for us?

Whether you look after a team of two on one site, or a company with 2,000 employees located throughout the UK, phs Besafe will provide a measuring service to ensure that all garments are correctly fitted. The garments come in a wide range of sizes from XS to 6XL (28” – 54” waist) and are suitable for men or women with short, regular or tall fittings. This means that each individual wearer should be comfortable with the additional option of further alterations, for example sleeve or trouser shortening, if required. 

We are also able to provide branding on any of our Flame Gear garments to promote your business and increase camaraderie amongst workers.

Your phs Besafe account manager will be able to offer advice as to which garments are best suited to your particular environment, and provide the exact specification and tolerances of the garments so you can ensure that your staff will be safely covered while your business will be legally covered with all of the relevant paperwork to support adherence to Health & Safety Regulations.

How do I wash protective clothing?

The answer is: you don’t! Or at least you really shouldn’t. Usual washing with ordinary detergents or dry cleaning will compromise the protective properties of work garments. However, dirt and grease can also spoil the safety features of protective garments, rendering reflective and phosphorescent materials ineffective when covered with grime. Dirty clothes can also be unpleasant to wear and affect a worker’s morale and pride in their job, while garments contaminated with chemicals could cause injury or damage when in contact with unprotected personnel or property.

While you shouldn’t attempt to clean protective clothing by domestic washing or dry cleaning, regular professional laundering, such as that provided by phs Besafe, will ensure the garments are kept clean without compromising important safety features. The fabrics used in the manufacture of our chemical resistance and repellent garments are not only hard wearing but also specially selected for compatibility with our laundering processes which are gentle on the environment, too. Decades of experience in laundering all forms of protective garments has allowed phs Besafe to formulate washing routines that preserve their protective qualities. We’ll regularly collect soiled garments from site, inspect them for repairs, and sympathetically clean them using organic, unperfumed detergents at one of our five UK laundries. Garments will be returned directly to wearers within 7 days, meaning that workers always have access to clean and effective workwear.

 

In the case of garments contaminated by chemicals, we provide special bags in which the items are placed and sealed, preventing the pollution of other garments. When washed, the bag dissolves to leave the workwear clean and uncompromised before being returned to site.

The phs Besafe laundry service is included in the garment rental fee or can be supplied as a standalone service for your existing workwear. Each garment is labelled with a barcode so that they can be traced throughout the laundry process, thereby reducing the chance of loss and providing the ability to log cleaning and repairs against each individual item. This clever system also ensures return to the correct worker.

If you need to take look at your provision of protective garments for the chemical industry, look no further than phs Besafe.