Antistatic Fibres and Finishes

Effects of Technical Textiles and Synthetic Nanofibers on Environmental Pollution

Textile manufacturing has been one of the highest polluting industrial sectors. It represents about one-fifth of worldwide industrial water pollution. It uses a huge number of chemicals, numerous of which are carcinogenic. The textile industry releases many harmful chemicals, such as heavy metals and formaldehyde, into water streams and soil, as well as toxic gases such as suspended particulate matter and sulphur dioxide to air. These hazardous wastes, may cause diseases and severe problems to human health such as respiratory and heart diseases. Pollution caused by the worldwide textile manufacturing units results in unimaginable harm, such as textile polymers, auxiliaries and dyes, to the environment. This review presents a systematic and comprehensive survey of all recently produced high-performance textiles; and will therefore assist a deeper understanding of technical textiles providing a bridge between manufacturer and end-user. Moreover, the achievements in advanced applications of textile material will be extensively studied. Many classes of technical textiles were proved in a variety of applications of different fields. The introductory material- and process-correlated identifications regarding raw materials and their transformation into yarns, fibers and fabrics followed by dyeing, printing, finishing of technical textiles and their further processing will be explored. Thus, the environmental impacts of technical textiles on soil, air and water are discussed.

Gamma-spectroscopy investigation of radon daughter deposition on electrostatically charged surfaces

The effect of static electricity on the deposition of radon daughters onto charged surfaces is determined by a combined experimental and theoretical analysis. Experiments with charged surfaces exposed to the air in a normal working environment are analysed to determine an empirical radon daughter deposition rate. This factor is utilized to estimate the daughter deposition on a human head which is exposed to similar conditions of air quality and static charging. The results indicate that typical levels of static electricity can enhance the deposition of radon daughters by orders of magnitude compared with the uncharged condition. The corresponding yearly alpha dose equivalents to the basal skin layer and to the eye exceed recommended limits. Beside having an important impact from the public health perspective, these results suggest that the obscure and contradictory correlations found between radon concentrations and adverse health effects may arise from a failure to account for the effects of static electricity.