The NC-170 research group has been conducting research on protective clothing for workers since 1982. Over the years, researchers and extension personnel from eighteen universities in the United States and Canada have been part of the research group.  Though all members have backgrounds in textiles, expertise varies and includes the fields of fiber science, apparel design, product development, and clothing and textile extension. A brief history of research ....

The areas of emphasis for the current project include:

• Developing and evaluating new textiles and materials systems and processes
• Designing and evaluating garment systems and processes
• Establishing a communication and education system for personal protective technology:
  
  • Creating a public online system for protective clothing communities
  • Facilitating research across university, government, and industry
  • Addressing user needs, collecting user input, and providing user training and education

The current research focuses on protective clothing needs of pesticide applicators and first responders. As a research group, we feel strongly that our work should focus on applied research, and on clearly communicating the results of our research to interested parties. We believe that the collaborative nature of this research increases our ability to solve problems and communicate our results effectively. Therefore, development of effective communication and education systems for understanding PPE is a major focus of the current project.