How to Prevent Burns From Wearing High Visibility Clothing
"This summer, many countries are suffering from record-breaking heat waves. Do you know how to prevent burns from wearing high visibility clothing during hot summer?"
In 2019, many of our Australian customers talked about the news "Australian engineer suffers first-degree burns from wearing high vis shirt".
Engineer suffers first-degree burns from the high-vis shirt, sparking a medical warning
We did some tests in our lab and had some discussions within our team and with some customers. Here are our thoughts and solutions:
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1. Cause of the problem: The burns are probably caused by steam into which sweat is converted in a high-temperature environment.
Similar to the FR industry, many firefighters got burns from their FR protective suits --- in a heat safety emergency when personnel is in the presence of a sudden intense flame flare up, inside perspiration or wet clothing immediately turns to superheated steam. Studies have shown that these steam burns tend to follow the pattern of solid-backed normal sew-on reflective tape since the steam cannot escape through the reflective tape. Here is a picture of thermal imaging.
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2. Our Solution: Apply perforated tape instead of solid reflective tape.
As part of the latest trends in fire and heat safety industries, many professionals are recommending perforated reflective tape.
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3. Benefits of perforated reflective tape: It allows air, heat, and moisture to flow through holes, providing better breathability.
Please let me know your thoughts on this issue. We will be very happy to hear from you.
