PPE Safety Standards

Stay Current with PPE Safety Standards

What you need to know about ASTM F2413, NFPA 2112, NFPA 70E, and EU standards
Refer to the article by Lori Hyllengren

PPE Safety Standards

The importance of safety can’t be underestimated. Consequently, providing personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential in industries that require employees to work in harsh and hazardous conditions, from manufacturing to transportation, construction, and more.

Importance of Compliance

Companies must provide PPE that not only helps prevent injuries but also complies with the latest PPE safety standards. Therefore, understanding these standards is crucial. Here are PPE safety standards from three organizations for footwear and garments.

ASTM Safety Footwear Standards

Firstly, ASTM International introduced three updated standards to guide test laboratories and companies that use protective footwear with improved testing and performance data. The most widely recognized PPE safety standard for footwear in the U.S. today is ASTM F2413. The first version of this standard appeared in 2005, revised in 2011, and revised again in 2018 as ASTM F2413-18. Each new revision requires shoe manufacturers to recertify existing styles within one year of the publishing date.

These standards specify performance requirements for protective toe-cap footwear, standard test methods for foot protection, and performance requirements for soft-toe protective footwear. The ASTM F2413-18 standard includes basic requirements to assess footwear, such as:

  • Impact (I) resistance for the toe area
  • Compression (C) resistance for the toe area
  • Metatarsal (Mt) protection for the metatarsal bones at the top of the foot
  • Conductive (Cd) properties to reduce static electricity buildup and lower the possibility of ignition of explosives, volatile chemicals, or fine particulates in the air
  • Electric hazard (EH) protection when stepping on live electric wires
  • Static dissipative (SD 10, 35, or 100) properties to reduce hazards from static charge buildup where there is a risk of accidental contact with live electrical circuits
  • Puncture resistance (PR) to protect the bottom of the foot from sharp penetrating objects

Soft-Toe Protective Footwear

Additionally, the requirements for Soft-Toe Protective Footwear appear in ASTM F2892-18. This standard covers protections like conductive properties, electric hazard protection, static dissipative properties, and puncture resistance.

Purchasers of protective footwear should identify the specific protections that the footwear provides. This ensures the required minimum performance criteria are met. Reviewing the required label permanently attached to the footwear verifies these protections:

  • Line 1 of label: ASTM F2413-18 (ASTM Standard No. – Year of Issuance)
  • Line 2 of label: M/I/C (appropriate gender, M or F, and the Impact and Compression resistance)
  • Line 3 of label: Mt/EH/PR (additional protections)

Moreover, a Certificate of Conformance (COC) from a third-party laboratory confirms that the footwear meets these protections.

NFPA Standards

Furthermore, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a global nonprofit organization devoted to saving lives and reducing injury, property, and economic damage. The NFPA provides knowledge through more than 300 consensus codes and standards, education, research, and training designed to minimize the risk and effects of fire hazards. Two NFPA standards relate to flame-resistant protective garments: NFPA 70E and NFPA 2112.

NFPA 70E

NFPA 70E is the standard for electrical safety in the workplace. This standard offers guidance relative to hazards stemming from the use of electricity. NFPA 70E states that the main priority should be the elimination of any hazard. Hundreds of deaths and thousands of burn injuries could be prevented through compliance with NFPA 70E. It addresses information about the effects of arc flash, arc blast, and direct current (DC) hazards. NFPA 70E lists the standards that arc-rated clothing and other personal protective equipment should comply with. However, PPE garments cannot be labeled as compliant or certified to NFPA 70E.

NFPA 2112

Similarly, NFPA 2112 is the standard on flame-resistant clothing for the protection of industrial personnel against short-duration thermal exposures from fire. This standard applies to the design, manufacture, and certification of flame-resistant garments for the protection of workers from flash-fire exposure and injury. It specifies requirements for flame-resistant fabric and garments to reduce the severity of flash fire burn injuries. NFPA 2112 does not apply to wildland or structural firefighting.

EU Footwear Standards

Furthermore, similar to ASTM, EU PPE footwear standards are separated into Safety (EN ISO 20345) with Safety Toecap, and Occupational Non-Safety Toe (EN ISO 20347). They are also categorized between footwear made from leather and other materials (Class 1) versus all-rubber or polymeric (Class 2).

The EU standards go beyond safety elements and also incorporate performance requirements for the footwear and its components. Design, durability, and comfort specifications are mandated by the standards.

The Role of Safety Managers

If workers wear PPE that doesn’t meet the latest PPE safety standards, they could be at risk for job site injuries. Therefore, safety managers must understand the latest PPE safety standards. This knowledge enables them to select the right PPE solutions for the work environment. Consequently, ensuring their employees are outfitted in products that will help keep them safe day after day is crucial.

Additional Resources

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