ABSTRACT
Our need for protection from the environment in which we live or work is becoming ever more complex and demanding. We can travel easily to any part of the earth, even to the vacuum of space, and we expect to be able to live more or less normal and active lives no matter where we are or what we may wish to do. We have become more conscious of the potential dangers that surround us at home and at work, and we expect some protection from hazards that only a short time ago were thought of as risks that our way of life required us to accept without question. Consequently, we have recently seen advances in the design of a wide range of protective clothing of ever higher levels of sophistication, made possible by the continuing development of new materials capable of providing improved protection from many threats to our well-being.
