40 international papers address emerging technologies and issues in six areas:

• New developments in protective clothing materials and finishes,

• Predication of performance or useful lifetime of protective clothing,

• Thermal protective assessment as determined by bench and manikin techniques,

• Barrier properties of protective clothing materials against biological hazards,

• The effect of use factors such as compression on protective properties,

• Heat stress and comfort in thermal protective clothing.

These issues will influence worker safety beyond the year 2000 and also reflect broader concerns such as the need for continued international development of standards and the importance of protective clothing to defending against chemical, biological and radiological warfare.