Protective garment or cover, composite semipermeable barrier fabric, and use in detoxification

A waterproof protective cover as a tent or shelter fabricated at least in part from a composite fabric, said fabric containing as the essential component thereof a continuous film of a highly fluorinated ion exchange polymer having sulfonic acid metal ion salt functional groups, said metal ion having a valence of +2, +3, or +4, there being at least one fluorine atom attached to each carbon atom to which each said functional group is attached, said polymer having an equivalent weight no greater than about 2,000.

A waterproof protective cover as a tarpaulin fabricated at least in part from a composite fabric, said fabric containing as the essential component thereof a continuous film of a highly fluorinated ion exchange polymer having sulfonic acid metal ion salt functional groups, said metal ion having a valence of +2, +3, or +4, there being at least one fluorine atom attached to each carbon atom to which each said functional group is attached, said polymer having an equivalent weight no greater than about 2,000.

A process wherein (a) water permeates from a first space adjacent a first side of a barrier to a second space adjacent the second side of said barrier, said barrier having as the essential component thereof a continuous film of a highly fluorinted ion exchange polymer having sulfonic acid metal ion salt functional groups, said metal ion havinga valence of +2, +3 or +4, there being at least one fluorine atom attached to each carbon atom to which each said sulfonic acid group is attached, said polymer having an equivalent weight no greater than about 2000, and (b) a hazardous substance, said substance being a toxic organophosphorus compound having a ##STR3## moiety wherein R is a C.sub.1 to C.sub.10 alkyl group, or a blistering agent which contains two or more chloroethyl groups, present in said second space (i) permeates only slowly into said barrier and (ii) that portion of said hazardous substance which permeates into said barrier is detoxified at least in part by said polymer, whereby the rate of penetration of said hazardous substance into said first space is substantially decreased.