PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Definition:   Personal protective equipment is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment attached to human body which is designed to protect the human’s wearer’s body from injury or infection. The hazards which include physical, electrical, heat, chemical, biohazards, and air borne particulate matter. 

Personal Protective Equipment

• Personal Protective Clothing (PPC) Eg: Helmet, Gloves,
• Personal Alert Safety System (PASS): PASS is an equipment which indicates about the fire fighter or the concern person is in danger or in emergency. It consists of 3 contents:

(i) It intimates when the person is incautious more than “30 sec”.

(ii) It intimates when temperature increases from the “pre-set temperature”.

(iii) It consists of “emergency button” for the person to be used during emergency.

    ·       Personal Respiratory Product (PRP)

(i) Supply Air Respiratory (SAR)

(ii) Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA)

Category of PPE

Respiratory: Those used for protection from harm due to inhalation of contaminated air.

Non-Respiratory: Those used for protection against injury from outside the body, i.e. for protecting the head, eye, face, hand, arm, foot, leg and other body parts.

Non-Respiratory

Safety Helmets

Safety Helmets are hard hats or headgear of varying materials designed to protect the workman’s head, not only from impact but from flying particles and electric shock or any combination of the three.

Helmet also protect the scalp, face and neck from overhead spills of acid, other chemicals, hot liquid and also, shield their hair form entanglement in machinery, or exposure to irritating dust. Some of the hard hats are even provided with welding mask or face screen. 

Classification of Helmets

i) Full Brimmed type

ii) Brimless with peak

    ·       Class A – limited voltage resistance for general services (water resistant and slow burning).

    ·       Class B – high voltage resistance (water resistant and slow burning).

    ·       Class C – no voltage protection (metallic helmets).

    ·       Class C – limited protection for fire.

Specification of Helmets

    ·       IS 4151:1993         –         Crash Helmets

Material: Non-metallic with 800gms.

Size   : Circumference ranging from 500 to 640 mm in additions of 10 mm.

Type  : V or NV type

Performance: shock absorption without damage when a 10 Kg wooden block is dropped from a height of 0.5 meter.

Penetration resistance against a 3 Kg pointed mass (60^O) falling from a height of 1 meter.

    ·       IS 2925:1984         –         Industrial Safety Helmets

    ·       IS 2745:1983         –         Fire Mans Helmets

Handling of Helmets

    ·       Helmets should be inspected for cracks, dents or any rough treatment.

    ·       Look for loose or torn cradle strap, broken sewing lines, loose rivets, defective lugs and other defects.

    ·       The sweatband and cradle inside the hat should be easily detachable to allow for cleansing and replacement.

    ·       Cleansing should be done at least once a month by washing in warm soapy water or any other detergent and then rinsing it thoroughly.

Colored Helmets

Eye and Face Protection

• Eyes can be injured from dust, flying particles, harmful radiation, accidental splashes of chemicals, etc.
• Face-shields are required particularly while handling chemicals but are not recommended as basic eye protection against impact.
• Face-shields must be used in combination with basic eye protection to guard against impact.
• Wire mesh screen guard consists of woven metal gauge support in front of the face and incorporates a transparent lens in front of the eyes.
• These are designed to provide protection to the face against flying particles and spray of hazardous liquids.
• The wire screen provides much better ventilation in hot and humid operations, this reducing the possibility of fogging.

Eye Protection for Welding

• Radiation is emitted in all the three spectral bands [viz. Ultra-violet, visible 12 (V), Infrared (IR)].
• Depending upon the flux used and the size and temperature of the pool of melted metal, the welding process emits visible and infrared radiation.
• Ultraviolet radiation is emitted along with Visible and Infrared radiation during heavy gas welding and cutting operations and in arc cutting and welding exceeding 30 amperes.
• For protection against this radiation, one has to use filter lenses of appropriate shade. These lenses are available in 16 different shades.
• The protective lens can be installed in a hand-held shield or in welder’s helmet for protection against radiation emitted during welding operations.
• To protect against pitting, the protective lens should be worn a replaceable plastic or cover plate.

Classification

• Safety Goggle: They fir the contour of the face to enclose the optical area and are held in position by a headband. Goggles come in different designs for different situations as eyecups, flexible or cushioned, plastic sys shields, foundry man’s goggles etc. these may also be of wide vision type. Some of the goggles are provided with ventilation arrangement also.
• Safety Spectacle: The oculars of safety spectacles are mounted in robust metal or plastic frame with or without side-shields. The lenses may be of toughened glass, cellulose acetate, acrylic or polycarbonate materials. Side shields are provided where lateral protection is needed.
• Safety Clip On: Safety clip-on are protective lenses designed to clip-on over the front of non-safety spectacles. These are covered cut-type goggles designed to fir over corrective spectacles.
• Eye Shield: It is a transparent visor supported in front of the face to shield the eyes.
• Face Shield: It is a device, including a transparent visor, supported in front of the face to shield the eyes, face, forehead and front of neck.
• Wire Mesh Screen Guard: It is device, including a transparent visor, supported in front of the face to shield the eyes, face, forehead and front of neck.

Selection of Eye and Face Protection Equipment

• Type of protection required.
• Conformity to relevant publications of BIS.
• Availability of rest certificate.
• Comfortable to wear, lightweight materials of excellent clarity and convenient fit.
• A non-penetrable protective seal around the forehead, temple, nose and cheek areas, in case of chemicals goggles.
• Soft, flexible frame that adjust perfectly to irregular facial contours of individuals wearers.
• Uninterrupted peripheral vision with unobstructed lines of sight in both horizontal and vertical planes.
• Free from refractive distortion, no hindrance while using helmet, dust filters and corrective spectacles.
• Secure lens retention even in adverse condition.
• Ease of keeping them in good repair.
• Ease of maintenance.

Care for Eye and Face Protection Equipment

• Goggles should not be borrowed or lent unless they have been cleaned and frequently sterilized.
• Goggles should be kept in a clean case, and not carried loose in the pocket.
• Goggles should be kept in proper condition. Pitted lenses should be replaced before they cause eye strain.
• Goggles should be immersed for 10 minutes in 2% cresol solution or 3% carbolic acid solution or 70% denatured alcohol solution.

Hand and Arm Protection

• Suitability of the material in view of the hazards.
• Selection of appropriate length and thickness of suit the application.
• Suitability of the lining.
• Selection of proper grip.
• Selection of appropriate cuff style.

 

The hand and arm type of PPE could be:

• Gloves 

• Wrist gloves
• Mittens
• Hand pads
• Thumb, finger and sleeve guards, etc.

About one-third of the injuries that occur involve hand and arms. Such injuries occur when the workman has to handle materials with:

• Sharp ends,
• Hot metals, chemicals,
• Corrosive substances,
• Electrical works, etc.

Specification for Electrical Rubber Gloves (Auth – IS: 4770-1991)

Rubber gloves for electrical safety purposes offer protection against electric shock while working on energized conductors and equipment. However, it does not imply that rubber gloves shall be the only means of protection for working on live circuits or components.

Types of Electrical Gloves

Electrical Gloves: Arm and hand protective equipment for electrical safety purposes shall be made from rubber (natural or synthetic) either by dipping process or from calendared sheet and physical properties of:

• Tensile strength: not less than 140 kgf/cm^2.
• Elongation at break: not less than 600%.

The gloves shall be marked with the following information:

i) Size and type of gloves

ii) Maximum working potential

iii) Manufacturer’s name or registered trademark

iv) Month and year of manufacture

Chemical Gloves: Gloves for protection against chemical safety are made of materials impervious to liquids for protection against irritating corrosive substances. No one type is universally suitable against all possible hazards. The choice depends on the particular acid, solvent, caustic, oil, chemical, etc. involved.

Gloves for Protection against Chemicals

Specification of Leather Gauntlets and Mittens (Auth – IS: 2573-1986)

Leather gauntlets are generally worn by welders for protection against heat and abrasion during welding and by workers while handling moderately hot materials or materials with sharp and rough edges. Leather mittens are also worn while handling moderately hot materials and materials with sharp and rough edges.

Foot and Leg Protection: Depending upon the nature of hazards against which protection is required, safety shoes are classified into following six principal types:

• Safety-toe shoes: the common foot protection employed in industry is the metal toe-box-safety shoe. This type of shoe is required when handling heavy materials, rolling objects like barrels, heavy pipes, rolls, truck wheels, to protect against kicking sharp sheet metal.
• Conductive shoes: These are required by workers who work in dusty, chemicals or explosives plants or where the atmosphere may contain a flammable mixture. The conductive shoes are in fact safety-toe-shoes with the added designed feature of discharging harmlessly to the ground static electricity charges, which may be built up on the body of the wearer as he/she moves around.
• Foundry (molder) shoes: These shoes are required by workers employed in operations where molten materials are used for preventing sparks and spattering of molten compounds from entering inside the shoe.
• Explosive-operations (non-sparking) shoes: These shoes do not have conductive soles and have non-ferrous eyelets and nails. The metals-box toes are coated with non-ferrous material. These shoes are required to be worn by workers in hazardous location where the floors are non-conductive and grounded, such as in the manufacture of certain explosive compounds.
• Electrical hazards shoes (shoes suitable for mining operations): This safety-toe shoe is to be used in areas where potentials for electrical shocks exists. No metal is used in preparation of this shoe, except for the base toe, which is insulated from the rest of the shoe. Of these become damp (wet) or badly worn out, they cannot be depended for protection.

Standards

• Leather safety Boots and Shoes – IS:1989 (Part 1 & 2)-1986.
• Fireman’s Leather Boots – IS: 4128-1980.
• Electrical Safety Shoes – IS: 4770-1968 (lays down the standards for testing of rubber gloves/boots for electrical purposes.
• PVC full gum boots with stockinet lining inside and conforming to IS: 12254-1988 can be used both for chemical and electrical purposes.
• A number of suppliers are manufacturing shoes with sole resistant to acid, alkali and oil. IS: 5557-1969 gives specifications for rubber knee boots for use on floors, which are covered with oil, grease, etc.

Air Supply Respiratory

• SCABA
• SAR

Selection of PPE are based on:

• Nature & severity of occupational hazards.
• Type of contaminant, its concentration and location of contaminated area w.r.t the source of breathable air.
• Expected activity of workman and duration of work.
• Comfort of workman when using PPE.
• Operating characteristics and limitation of PPE.
• Ease of maintenance and cleaning.
• Conformity of Indian/International standards and availability of test certificate.