DuPont unveils new fire safety breather membrane for high-rise buildings

by Breathing ApparatusFeatured NewsPPEProducts

DuPont introduces Tyvek Trifecta: new fire-resistant breather membrane

DuPont Performance Building Solutions has launched a new product, the Tyvek Trifecta breather membrane, specifically designed for the external walls of high-rise buildings.

This product is notable for its A2-s1, d0 Class Fire Performance, aligning with the European Fire Classification Standard EN 13501-1, and it exceeds the fire safety standards set by current UK Building Regulations.

The Tyvek Trifecta is presented in a convenient roll size of 1.5m x 25m, offering exceptional fire safety and moisture protection.

It represents an evolution of the standard Tyvek breather membranes, providing enhanced protection in a lightweight format.

Complete system and UV resistance

In conjunction with the DuPont AirGuard A2 FR AVCL, Tyvek Trifecta forms a comprehensive A-rated membrane system.

The system’s integrity is further reinforced by the DuPont AirGuard FR System Tape, which bolsters its fire and moisture protection capabilities.

This makes the system suitable for various building types including high-rise buildings, hospitals, and schools.

Moreover, Tyvek Trifecta boasts up to 12 months of UV resistance, offering flexibility during construction projects and aiding in the maintenance of a quality façade installation.

Advanced moisture management

The new Tyvek Trifecta is engineered with superior moisture management properties.

It features Class W1 water resistance according to EN13859-2 and is designed with low vapour resistance, making it an optimal secondary weather protection layer in external wall systems.

Andrea Albert, Shelter Solutions EMEA Marketing Leader at DuPont, commented: “Tyvek Trifecta provides an outstanding solution to helps offer building owners fire safety protection of people using their buildings.”

Albert also noted: “This product is a testament to our commitment to developing solutions that help enhance the fire safety and moisture protection standards of the construction industry.”

MSA, DuPont and NVFC’s Globe Gear Giveaway returns

by Featured NewsFirefighting Equipment

Since 2012, Globe by MSA, DuPont Personal Protection, and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) have partnered to provide turnout gear to fire departments in need. Applications for the 2023 giveaway are now open.

In 2023, MSA Safety will donate a total of 52 sets of turnout gear and 52 helmets (four per department) to 13 all-volunteer or mostly-volunteer fire departments in the U.S. and Canada.

To be eligible to apply, departments must meet be over 50% volunteer, serve a population of 25,000 or less, be located in the United States or Canada and be legally organized under state/province law [Indian/tribal entities not organized under state/province law are eligible].

Individuals applying on behalf of the department or department chief must be a member of the NVFC. MSA will provide complimentary NVFC memberships to the first 500 applicants.

Departments must also demonstrate a need for the gear. Only one application will be accepted per department and any subsequent applications received for that department will be disqualified. Recipients must use the donated items for the benefit of their department and not for any other purpose and cannot be resold.

Finally, recipients agree that their department name, details from application essay, and photo may be used in media by MSA, DuPont, and the NVFC for the purposes of promoting the donation program.

The scheme said that previous winners from the past two years are not eligible to apply.

View the official rules here and apply for the giveaway here.

DuPont provides nearly five million coveralls to COVID-19 frontline workers

by Projects

DuPont has signed a contract with the European Commission and EU countries, opening the door for countries to place orders for the delivery of millions of Tyvek® hooded coveralls to COVID-19 frontline workers across Europe. The contract allows for over 4.9 million coveralls over the next 12 months to be delivered to key workers.

One of the products offered is Tyvek® 500 Xpert, category III, Type 5-B and 6-B coverall, which is designed to protect wearers against biohazards as well as liquid and particulate threats. Featuring stitched external seams, elasticated wrists, ankles, and face, it is ideally suited to protect workers in healthcare and other frontline occupations from contamination by droplets, while also providing optimal ease of movement and comfortable wear.

Alternatively, if the delivery of the products is time-critical, instead of Tyvek® 500 Xpert, member states can also opt to receive another type of DuPont™ Tyvek® garment that offers similar performance and may be more readily available.

In total, the contract entitles the participating countries to order more than 8 million garments over a period of 12 months from DuPont, if demand persists and production processes allow. Since being signed in early May, the contract currently allows procurement from Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Malta, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, and Slovakia.

Since March, DuPont has increased its production volume and shortened its supply chain to optimize the manufacturing capacity in response to the global crisis. It has also donated 50,000 Tyvek® coveralls to help protect healthcare workers in some of the worst affected countries in Europe. The company has many years of experience in supplying protective garments during viral outbreaks, and some of its Tyvek® and Tychem® hooded coveralls have been successfully used by frontline workers during past epidemics, including Ebola and Bird Flu.

“It is vital that healthcare workers have access to PPE that they can rely on so that they can turn their full attention to the task in hand,” said Albrecht Gerland, Product Manager for DuPont Personal Protection in Europe.

”We are proud to play a part in the ongoing battle against COVID-19. As we manufacture both the fabric as well as the actual coveralls, we are well-placed to quickly respond to the current demand without disrupting the supply to our existing customers.

“This contract will bring our proven DuPont™ Tyvek® technology to those most in need, and we will continue to work tirelessly to meet the European Commission’s requirements in this evolving situation.”

For more information on DuPont, visit dpp.dupont.com.

DuPont publishes 2020 Sustainability Report

by Projects

DuPont has announced the release of its 2020 Sustainability Report, which is the first for DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (following its separation from DowDuPont), and covers integrated activities during the calendar year 2019.

DuPont’s innovation culture and diverse portfolio position the company to deliver science-based solutions that create sustainable, positive societal change and competitive advantages in essential areas such as clean water, health and safety, high- speed connectivity, and automotive electrification. Among the many ways the company’s competitive differentiators are being harnessed to create social and environmental advantage are its investment in advanced technologies for 5G networks to support more connected, sustainable communities, and DuPont’s AHEAD™ automotive program, which will help accelerate the transportation industry’s transformation to hybrid and electric vehicles.

DuPont’s 2030 Sustainability Goals underscore the importance of bringing sustainable innovations to market and draw inspiration from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), which help to gauge what the biggest market drivers will be in the years to come and chart a clear path ahead for its businesses.

“At the end of 2019, we announced our 2030 Sustainability Goals—nine ambitious, long-term goals developed to amplify our company’s contributions in areas that are critically important to our stakeholders and society,” said Alexa Dembek, DuPont Chief Technology & Sustainability Officer. “In this, our first sustainability report, we introduce our roadmap to meet our goals, hold ourselves accountable, and track our progress. You’ll read about how we engage our colleagues and the communities we live in by empowering people to drive change and be part of the solution. While the report tracks 2019 performance, this commitment is especially visible right now, as we find new ways to secure the health and safety of our own teams, recommit to our responsibilities to assure racial justice for Black Americans, and partner with fellow industry leaders to provide the protective equipment frontline workers, including many of our own, need to combat the pandemic.”

Highlights of the company’s 2019 performance include: 

  • In our operations, we continue to deliver world-class health and safety performance. In 2019, 75 percent of DuPont sites achieved zero injuries and/or illnesses, which is the best safety performance our businesses have ever recorded.
  • We are advancing water security, availability and quality worldwide through our filtration and purification technologies, and we’ve expanded our capabilities with strategic acquisitions of Memcor, Inge, Desalitech and OxyMem.
  • We partnered with Habitat for Humanity International to provide safe, affordable, and energy-efficient housing for people in need worldwide. In the second half of 2019, 400 DuPont employees donated more than 2,550 service hours to Habitat projects in 16 communities across the U.S. and Canada.
  • We continue to affirm our commitment to address climate change as a member of the CEO Climate Dialogue, a collaboration between large companies and NGOs working together to advance effective climate legislation in the U.S.
  • We were named to the 2019 Bloomberg Gender- Equality Index (GEI), and for the sixth year in a row, scored a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI).  

“DuPont’s businesses and employees have a long history of improving the world through science-based innovation and that is reflected today in an approach to sustainability that empowers people everywhere to be agents of change,” said Ed Breen, DuPont Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Our goals include achieving a more just and equitable world for all, which is why I felt it was so important to sign on to the Catalyst CEO Champions for Change, pledging to advance more women, particularly women of colour, into senior leadership positions and onto our board, and the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge. In this period of profound global change and unprecedented health, economic, and societal challenges, I expect this first Sustainability Report will be the foundation for meaningful change, with DuPont innovation helping to lead the way to dramatic improvements on multiple fronts.”

https://www.dupont.com/about/sustainability.html