What is Gore-tex®?

Paul Goettlich/Mindfully.org 4jun2005

[More on Teflon]

This article came about after searching for a pair of hiking boots that have
sufficient treads to hold me on steep mountain paths.

At a popular outdoor and camping store in Berkeley, I found that about 90% of
the boots had a Gore-tex® hang-tag on them. About a quarter of them were
treated with an unspecified antimicrobial, or bacterial agent. I didn't want either
because I get a rash from Gore-tex® fabric and I surely didn't want a pesticide
next to my body, which antimicrobials and antibacterials are classified as. I had
to act fast because my breathing is affected by the great amount of noxious
chemicals in sporting goods stores. A noxious chemical is one that is irritating or
offensive and that may have a harmful effect on life.

In spite of the fact that many people are highly sensitive to harmful chemicals,
they shouldn't feel like freaks. In fact, I am grateful that my body alerts me to
these hidden dangers and think that readers of this article should feel the same
way. However, sales people can feel otherwise after our concerns are
expressed. They may suggest we go to a place that specializes in "Berkeley sort
of stuff," essentially meaning that the desire is fringe. I admit it I am rare in my
concern about Gore-tex® in comparison to 99.99% of any selection of shoppers
in the US. But why would I want to agree with a group of people — no matter
how large or prevalent in society — that assumes the safety of most of what
industry feeds them, clothes them in and houses them in? My own frustration
grows as it is rapidly becoming difficult to purchase clothes that don't contain
some form of synthetic chemical as a part of the weave; or as a fabric treatment
for any number of stated purposes. Nanoparticles are rapidly taking hold as well.

So, what is Gore-tex®?

Essentially Gore-tex® is a Teflon®-treated synthetic polymer — a plastic.

Teflon® is a brand name for tetrafluoroethylene / polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
Generally, all plastics are made by the process of combining many toxic
chemicals into long chain molecules called polymers using great heat and
pressure. The process is never 100% perfect, meaning that there are always
toxic chemicals that leach or migrate into whatever comes into contact with them
— food, drink, air and you. Teflon® is no different. Make no doubt about it,
Teflon® does leach toxic chemicals into whatever contacts it. According to a
Russian study in 1978, in water that had contacted the material, fluor ions and
organofluorine compounds were detected. (1) In another study, benzene was
found.(2)

More technically, Gore-tex® is a dispersion-polymerised PTFE that is patented

by W. L. Gore and Associates. It is classed as a stretched semi-crystalline film,
and is produced by extrusion under stress (faster take-up rate than extrusion
rate). The extrudate is stretched below the melting temperature, often in the
presence of an aromatic hydrocarbon that swells the amorphous region, creating
porosity. The hydrophobic nature of the PTFE means that liquid water is repelled
from the pores, whereas water vapour can pass through. It is important to realise
that once the PTFE pores are filled with liquid water, the fabric can allow liquid
water to pass though until it is dry again. Thus Gore-tex®-containing fabrics
(such as Nomex/Gore-tex, which consists of an outer aramid(3) fabric, a central
Gore-tex® layer, and a cotton backing) should never be used as protection from
chemicals as many will pass straight through. Any water- miscible solvent (eg
alcohol) can fill the pores, and then liquid water can displace it and continue to
rapidly pass through until the fabric is fully dried out.(4)

Gore-tex® is a proprietary teflonized Teflon® is the brand name of a polymer

compound discovered by Roy J. Plunkett (1910-1994) of DuPont in 1938 and
introduced as a commercial product in 1946.

Teflon is polytetrafluoroethene (PTFE®).

Teflon® is also used as the trade name for a polymer with similar properties,
perfluoroalkoxy polymer resin (PFA®)

History:

W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. was founded in 1958 by Wilbert L. "Bill" Gore and
his wife, Genevieve Gore, in Newark, Delaware. Bill Gore was a DuPont
research chemist working in fluropolymers, and based on a suggestion by his
son, Robert W. "Bob" Gore, he developed and patented a process for insulating
wires with Teflon® (DuPont's trade name for PTFE®). A decade later, Bob
invented Gore-Tex®, an expanded form of PTFE®, and the company today
makes a wide range of products in the medical, industrial, electrical and fabrics
fields all based on his core PTFE® membrane technology invention.

Gore-tex® patent: U.S. Pat. 3,962,153 (8 June 1976) R.W.Gore (to W.L.Gore
and Associates). This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 39,753,
filed May 21, 1970, now abandoned. source: U.S. Patent Office 4jun2005

References

1. Proklina et al, Hygenic evaluation of polymeric materials intended for use in the food industry, Gig. Sanit.,
1, 111, 1978

2. Jickells et al, Gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric determination of benzene in nonstick cookware

and microwave susceptors and its migration into foods on cooking, J. AOAC Int., 76, 760, 1993.

3. An aramid is an aromatic polyamide fibers characterized by excellent high-temperature, flame-resistance,

and electrical properties. Aramid fibers are used to achieve high-strength, high-modulus reinforcement in
plastic composites. Aramid fiber (1961) is a synthetic fiber, a fire-resistant polyamide, is a favorite for
aerospace and military; bullet-proof protective "armor" fabric, as well as an asbestos substitute. A well-
known type of aramid fiber (a para-aramid) is commonly known by its DuPont trade name, Kevlar®.

Aramid fiber characteristics:

Sensitive to degradation from ultraviolet radiation; good resistance to abrasion, chemical degradation, and
thermal degradation; nonconductive; no melting point; low flammability; good fabric integrity at elevated
temperatures; para-aramid fibers such as Kevlar and Twaron, which have a slightly different molecular
structure, also provide outstanding strength-to-weight properties, high tenacity and high modulus.

Major industrial uses:

Flame-resistant clothing; protective vests and helmets; composites; asbestos replacement; hot air filtration
fabrics; tire and mechanical rubber goods reinforcement; ropes and cables; sail cloth (not necessarily racing
boat sails); sporting goods; drumheads.

Production:
The Federal Trade Commission definition for Aramid fiber is "A manufactured fiber in which the fiber-forming
substance is a long-chain synthetic polyamide in which at least 85 percent of the amide linkages are
attached directly to two aromatic rings." Aramid fiber is produced by spinning a solid fiber from a liquid
chemical blend. This relies on a co-solvent with an ionic component (calcium chloride) to occupy the
hydrogen bonds of the amide groups, and an organic solvent (N-methyl pyrrolinidone) to dissolve the
aromatic polymer; prior to DuPont's invention of this process, no practical means of dissolving the polymer
was known. First U.S. Commercial Aramid Fiber Production: 1961, DuPont Company. Current U.S. Aramid
Fiber Producers: INVISTA (source: Wikipedia 4jun2005)

In chemistry, an aromatic molecule is one in which electrons are free to cycle

around circular arrangements of atoms, which are alternately singly and doubly
bonded to one another. (More properly, these bonds may be seen as a hybrid of
a single bond and a double bond, each bond in the ring being identical to every
other.) This commonly seen model of aromatic rings was developed by Friedrich
August Kekulé von Stradonitz. The model for benzene consists of two resonance
forms, which corresponds to the double and single bonds switching positions.
(source: Wikipedia 4jun2005)

Teflon® is the brand name of a polymer compound discovered by Roy J. Plunkett

(1910-1994) of DuPont in 1938 and introduced as a commercial product in 1946.

Teflon is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)®.

F F
| |
R - C - C - R
| |
F F
Teflon is also used as the trade name for a polymer with similar properties,
perfluoroalkoxy polymer resin (PFA):

F F F F
| | | |
R - C - C - C - C - R
| | | |
F F F O
|
F - C - F
|
F

Teflon® has the lowest coefficient of friction of any solid material known to man.
It is used as a non-stick coating for pans and other cookware. Teflon® is very
unreactive, and so is often used in containers and pipework for reactive
chemicals. Its melting point varies between 260 °C (FEP)® and 327 °C (PTFE)®,
depending on which specific teflon resin is being discussed.

Teflon® is sometimes said to be a spin-off from the US space program with more
down-to-earth applications; this is an urban legend, as teflon® cooking pans
were commonplace before Yuri Gagarin's flight in 1961. PTFE® was discovered
serendipitously by Roy Plunkett of DuPont in 1939, while attempting to make a
new CFC refrigerant. DuPont patented it in 1941, and registered the Teflon®
trademark in 1944.

Its first significant use was in the Manhattan Project, as a material to contain
highly-reactive uranium hexafluoride, when it was known as K416.

It was first sold commercially in 1946 and by 1950, DuPont® was producing over
a million pounds (weight) per year in Virginia.

Teflon® has been supplemented with another DuPont® product, Silverstone, a

three-coat fluoropolymer system that produces a more durable finish than
Teflon®. Silverstone was released in 1976.

Amongst many other industrial applications, Teflon® is used to coat certain types
of hardened, armour-piercing bullets, so as to reduce the amount of wear on the
firearm's rifling. These are often mistakenly referred to as "cop-killer" bullets on
account of Teflon's® supposed ability to ease a bullet's passage through bullet-
proof armour. Any armour-piercing effect is, however, purely a function of the
bullet's velocity and rigidity rather than a property of Teflon®.
Teflon® exposure has been implicated in cancer, though DuPont® denies any
association. Non-stick coatings on household frying pans have also been shown
to release toxic gases upon overheating. These gases are lethal to avians, and
can cause flu-like symptoms in humans.

Teflon has excellent electrical properties especially at radio frequencies, making

it eminently suitable for use as an insulator in cables and connector assemblies.
Combined with its high melting temperature this makes it the material of choice
as a high performance substitute for the weaker and more meltable polythene
that is commonly used in low-cost applications. (source: Wikipedia 4jun2005)

4. http://www.nvon.nl/scheik/best/faq's/science%20chemistry/scichem-faq.pdf 4jun2005