Managing electrostatic discharges by protective clothing

Managing personal static electricity is an important issue in the community at large, as well as in the electronics industry. Electrostatic discharge (ESD) protective garments are generally used in areas where the relative humidity may fall below 20 % RH. Garments should maintain their ESD protective performance, be ESD reliable in use, and still be reliable after 20 - 50 washes. The surface resistance and charge function of washings. Measurements have been made in humidities of 5 - 10 % RH. The objective of both surface resistance and charge decay measurements was to obtain reliable information on performance of the clothing in ESD control. According to the results, careful attention should be paid to the technical development and manufacturing, as well as to the washability properties of the ESD garments. Several washings may change the electrostatic properties of some ESD garments, leading to a highly restricted capability of dissipating charge