Tyvek is a man-made material produced by DuPont from flash-spun, high-density polyethylene fiber. It is used in a number of applications (including envelopes), but our focus is its use in chemical protective clothing.

Tyvek is a good quality general-purpose, not reusable protective garment for light-to-medium chemical protection. It provides protection from a range of materials, as well as dust, dirt, and harmful particulates like lead, asbestos, and mold. An antistatic, low-lint cloth, Tyvek is strong and difficult to tear; however, it can be simply cut with scissors or other sharp objects. Tyvek materials is also not a laminate, so its integrity is not reduced as easily when the item of clothing is abraded. Combined with nitrile gloves it is an efficient guard.

Environments where you would make use of Tyvek protecting clothing include: automotive repair or other operations where you want to defend from contact with oil and grease; painting to defend skin and clothing from paint splatters; fitting of fiberglass insulation; sanding procedures or other actions where you want to shield from particulates (including radioactive dust); by employees in clean rooms and laboratories; lead, asbestos, and mold abatement; food processing; and everywhere you want to avoid exposures to workers from dust and dirt. As noted above, Tyvek is intended for light-to-medium material exposure circumstances and would not be a beneficial choice in work areas with extreme chemical exposure. Tyvek is also not flame resistant and should not be worn around flames, heat, sparks, or in combustible or volatile areas.

Most employees are accustomed with the white Tyvek coverall, but Tyvek is also used make a number of kinds of protective clothes including, lab coats, aprons, head-to-toe coveralls, and shoe and boot covers.

Once your staff are prepared to perform their job in a agent environment they should be ready with Tyvek clothes.