Assessing the Impact of Pre-Soaking to Enhance Laundering Efficacy of Firefighter Turnout Gear.

ABSTRACT: Firefighters are exposed to hazardous chemicals at fire scenes, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) among many others, which pose significant health risks. Current laundering practices are ineffective at removing persistent contaminants from turnout gear, necessitating further research to optimize cleaning methods. This study explores the impact of presoaking prior to the laundering process and the factors that can affect its effectiveness, including the presoaking duration and detergent concentration, in PAH removal when laundering. For this, contaminated fabric swatches were subjected to various presoaking durations (1, 3, and 12 h) and detergent concentrations (99:1 and 90:10 water-to-detergent ratios) before undergoing bench-scale washing. The cleaning efficacy was assess

SUBMITTER: Hossain MT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11358897 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature