Importance of Wearing ESD Clothing for Static Protection

ESD lab coats and smocks are important in areas where protection from static electricity is needed. Some people think that just wearing a wrist strap is enough, as it’s believed to ground any charge. However, this idea is not entirely correct.

By wearing special static control garments like an ESD Smock or Lab Coat, you can cover up the regular clothing and reduce the electric fields created by it. Regular clothing, especially those made from synthetic materials, can generate a lot of static electricity. The issue is that these fabrics don’t allow the charge to go to the ground. Some people consider wearing Static Control Garments as a crucial step to show dedication to an ESD Control Program.

Characteristics

ESD lab coats are commonly made from a dissipative material that includes textured polyester and carbon nylon fibers. The conductive nylon fibers are intricately woven in a chain-link pattern throughout the material, ensuring consistent charge dissipation.

ESD lab coats are designed as ESD protective products and have antistatic low charging, reducing the generation of electrostatic charges.
They also are groundable, enabling users to easily and reliably connect the lab coats to the ground. The material is dissipative, ensuring efficient removal of charges to the ground when grounded. And provides shielding, producing a “Faraday Cage” effect to contain charges generated on the user’s clothing within the ESD lab coat.

Wearing and Grounding of ESD Lab Coats

Wear the lab coat and securely fasten all snaps on the front, ensuring that clothing remains fully covered within the lab coat without any exposure.

During usage, it is crucial for the conductive cuff to maintain close contact with the skin on the wrist. The conductive cuff should never be pulled up and over the shirt sleeve under any circumstances.

Ensure the ESD lab coat is properly grounded. A commonly used method for grounding involves using a coiled cord, which can be attached either to a snap located on the waist area of the lab coat or to a wrist strap snapped onto the inside cuff of the ESD lab coat. If neither of these methods is applicable, the lab coat should be grounded through the person’s wrist, allowing charges to be dissipated through ESD footwear to an ESD protected flooring.

Failure to ground the ESD garment can pose a potential risk, turning it into an isolated charged conductor. If an operator wears a lab coat without establishing an electrical connection between the lab coat, their body’s skin, or the ground, the charges on the lab coat may have no path for discharge.

How to wear ESD Lab Coats and smocks within ESD Protected Areas

Characteristics

Wearing and Grounding of ESD Lab Coats

Read more on ESD Lab Coat testing procedure

Read more on ESD washing instructions

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