Hazmat suit

A hazmat suit is a piece of personal protective equipment that consists of an impermeable whole-body or one piece garment worn as protection against hazardous materials.

Such suits are often combined with self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) to ensure a supply of breathable air. Hazmat suits are used by firefighters, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, researchers, personnel responding to toxic spills, specialists cleaning up contaminated facilities, and workers in toxic environments.

An early primitive form of the hazmat suit arose during bubonic plague epidemics, when European plague doctors of the 16th and 17th centuries wore distinctive costumes consisting of bird-like beak masks and large overcoats while treating victims of the bubonic plague. At the time, it was thought that the inhalation of "bad air" was the cause of disease (a theory known as the miasma theory), so the bird-like beak masks functioned as respirators that contained aromatic items such as herbs and dried flowers. The modern hazmat suit is believed to originate from the Manchurian plague of 1910–1911, wherein Malayan physician Wu Lien-teh promoted the use of various forms of personal protective equipment to prevent the spread of the pneumonic plague.

The United States Department of Homeland Security defines a hazmat suit as "an overall garment worn to protect people from hazardous materials or substances, including chemicals, biological agents, or radioactive materials." More generally, hazmat suits may provide protection from:

The hazmat suit generally includes breathing air supplies to provide clean, uncontaminated air for the wearer. In laboratory use, clean air may be supplied through attached hoses. This air is usually pumped into the suit at positive pressure with respect to the surroundings as an additional protective measure against the introduction of dangerous agents into a potentially ruptured or leaking suit.

Working in a hazmat suit is very strenuous, as the suits tend to be less flexible than conventional work garments. With the exception of laboratory versions, hazmat suits can be hot and poorly ventilated (if at all). Therefore, use is usually limited to short durations of up to 2 hours, depending on the difficulty of the work. Level A (United States) suits, for example, are limited by their air supply to around 15–20 minutes of very strenuous work (such as a firefighting rescue in a building). However, OSHA/EPA protective level A suits/ensembles are not typically used in firefighting rescue, especially during a building/structure fire. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) compliant "turnout gear", and NIOSH-certified or CBRN self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) are the primary protection technologies for structure firefighting in the US.

Hazmat protective clothing is classified as any of Level A, B, C, or D, based upon the degree of protection they provide.

Most suits used in Europe are covered by a set EU Norms, and divided into a total of six types (levels) of protection: