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Robert N. Phalen, PhD, CIH, CSP, FAIHA, is now a professor and program director of occupational safety and health at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. But years ago, he worked in automotive repair and service. Exposure to vehicle oils led to him developing contact dermatitis, a painful condition that occurs when irritants or allergens cause the skin to become inflamed. Because Phalen’s employer did not provide him with gloves to protect his hands, he had to buy his own. “They were just cloth gloves, so they weren't chemically protective,” Phalen recalled. “They would get soaked with oil, and I would have to take them off and wash them.”

Phalen’s experience illustrates the importance of providing workers with appropriate chemical protective clothing. Lack of protective clothing is also an issue he has observed throughout his industrial hygiene career. “I've seen plenty of people affected by contact with chemicals. It’s one area of our field that is a little bit under-recognized,” compared to inhalable hazards, he told SynergistNOW staff. “We do a very good job at controlling inhalation hazards, but we don't always do an exceptional job at recognizing hazards to the skin and protecting the skin.”

He acknowledged that, in comparison to inhalable hazards, few occupational exposure limits have been established for dermal exposures to chemicals. NIOSH’s skin notation profiles provide excellent supplemental information on chemicals that may cause illness or injury through contact with the skin. Furthermore, a comprehensive guide for selecting personal protective equipment to prevent dermal exposures is available in the form of AIHA’s Chemical Protective Clothing.

In 2025, AIHA published the third edition of this document, which was co-edited by Phalen and Derek Newcomer, DrPH, CIH, CHMM, CSP, REHS. Phalen shared with SynergistNOW why the updated version of Chemical Protective Clothing is a critical resource for occupational and environmental health and safety professionals.

What’s in the Document?

AIHA’s Chemical Protective Clothing and Equipment Committee developed Chemical Protective Clothing to help OEHS professionals “understand chemical protective clothing better,” Phalen explained. This includes “what goes into proper selection of chemical protective clothing and what needs to go into a comprehensive protective clothing and equipment program,” he continued. The first edition, published in the ’90s, gave readers a foundation in evaluating and selecting protective clothing, including supporting theory and testing methods. The document received a second edition in 2003.

Since then, new materials and new types of chemical protective clothing have become available, so the committee decided that the document needed to be updated again. “We saw that there was a definite need to re-educate professionals in the field on the new technologies that are available and even the changes in the standardized tests that evaluate the performance of these materials,” Phalen said.

He described Chemical Protective Clothing as divided loosely into three parts. The first outlines fundamental concepts, starting with how chemicals impact the skin and why the skin must be protected. Some chemicals affect the skin itself, such as by causing allergic or irritant dermatitis, but others may be absorbed through the skin and cause health effects inside the body. Moreover, the various materials used in protective clothing interact with chemicals in different ways. This section provides readers with a basic theoretical foundation for evaluating and selecting chemical protective clothing.

The next part of the book focuses on the design, manufacturing, and testing of chemical protective clothing. According to Phalen, “there's a lot that goes into designing chemical protective clothing to do what needs to be done.” This section gives the reader “essential knowledge on the vast scope of all the different types of chemical protective clothing that can be used in the workplace, how it is tested and evaluated, and how we can use that testing information to aid us in selecting appropriate chemical protective clothing,” he said. Phalen himself has direct experience with this topic: he told SynergistNOW staff how, in graduate school, he developed a robotic hand to test how simulated hand movement affected the chemical resistance of protective gloves.

Finally, the third part of the book guides readers through establishing and developing “a comprehensive chemical protective clothing program that would allow them to properly evaluate and control chemical hazards,” Phalen said. This part also covers specific aspects of using chemical protective clothing, such as decontamination. Phalen noted that once chemical protective clothing becomes contaminated, it can pose a hazard itself. “So, you have to know some of the principles of decontamination and what would be needed in a proper decontamination program,” he said. Other chapters address managing heat stress for workers wearing protective clothing, which may be bulky and place additional strain on their bodies, as well as issues related to flame-retardant clothing and emergency response.

One of the chapters updated in the new edition covers engineered nanomaterials, described by Phalen as “an emerging issue that people need to be aware of.” Although there is still uncertainty about the hazards posed by engineered nanomaterials, “there are considerations that we need to at least look at when we have exposures to these nanomaterials,” he said. “And there's some guidance in there to show that there are testing standards and evaluations that can help protect workers from those types of exposures.”

Although not the primary focus of the document, Chemical Protective Clothing touches on respiratory protection and biological and radiological hazards. Chemical hazards are often grouped with biological, radioactive, and nuclear hazards (CBRN) or threats in military and defense contexts, and a person working in hazardous materials, emergency response, or counterterrorism may also be exposed to these types of hazards as well. Furthermore, the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard for situations requiring chemical protective clothing also covers respiratory protection. A person wearing an EPA Level A fully encapsulated chemical suit “would also, most likely, be wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus,” Phalen said. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has also developed robust standards for protective clothing ensembles, which are detailed in the book.

Why Is This Resource Unique?

Although relatively few resources are available to help OEHS professionals characterize dermal exposures, the Chemical Protective Clothing and Equipment Committee does its best to educate OEHS professionals “on protective clothing and protective equipment related to dermal exposures, the importance of protecting the skin, and how we can protect the skin,” Phalen said. “We see that as part of our duty to the profession.”

Chemical Protective Clothing covers everything that readers may need to know about selecting and using chemical protective clothing, including compliance and comfort. Phalen described it as a “technical guidance” document that provides OEHS professionals with “the necessary background in fundamentals to understand chemicals and how they can expose the body and pose a threat, detail on the different types of chemical protective clothing choices we have, and how we can use the available standardized tests to properly select chemical protective clothing.”

“I see it as being an essential guidance that they can rely on to help them exercise sound judgment,” he added—by making “decisions that will protect workers.”

Chemical Protective Clothing, third edition, is available for purchase through AIHA’s website.