Hi folks - in the offshore environment, I asked the question about the coveralls sustaining their fire retardancy properties to the laundry boss and he replied we had already breached the makers reccomendations because the label stated " dry clean only" and we boil wash on the accomodation barge.

Now I find this dry clean suggestion rather absurd due to the environment and the cost - BUT - is that what is required to maintain a bit of fire retardancy?

Anyone know how we can maintain the fire retardancy on coveralls? - how is the level of fire retardancy measured? - and what is our legal standing if we boil wash instead of dry clean?

I have an idea of our legal standing, but would appreciate others views first. And are we being ripped off with the redardancy claims by the suppliers?

Thanks

David

Hello David,

In a word "Yes" they are only good for one wash, you will probably notice the really strong odour when they are first opened - this is the fire retardant they dip the coveralls in!

Boil washing is the norm offshore and probably wont change - not sure how dry cleaning would remove dope, grease and all the usual chemicals you get offshore hence the boil wash.

As the coverall shrink in a boil wash as well, rig workers tend to give them a few washes to get them to shrink before donning which means there is no fire resistance at all.

Good luck in persueing this one, you will probably find that a new pair after every wash is the only way forward to tackle this. MMMMM the OIMS wont like that at 60-80GBP a pop.

Regards
Kev