Significance and Use 5.1 This test method is normally used to
evaluate flat specimens from finished items of protective
clothing and from materials that are candidates for items of
protective clothing. 5.1.1 Finished items of protective clothing
include gloves, arm shields, aprons, suits, hats, boots,
respirators, and the like. 5.1.2 The phrase “specimens from
finished items” encompasses seamed or other discontinuous
regions as well as the usual continuous regions of protective
clothing items. 5.2 The breakthrough detection time,
standardized breakthrough time, permeation rate, and cumulative
permeation are key measures of the effectiveness of a clothing
material as a barrier to the test chemical. Such information is
used in the comparison of clothing materials during the process
of selecting clothing for protection from hazardous chemicals.
Long breakthrough detection times, long standardized
breakthrough detection times, low amounts of cumulative
permeation, and low permeation rates are characteristics of b