Personal Protective Equipment

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Personal Protective Equipment Department of
University Safety Assurances www.safety.uwm.edu
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Why PPE is Important

• Personal protective equipment (PPE) is designed
  to prevent or lessen the severity of injuries to
  workers.
• The employer must assess the workplace and
  determine what hazards may necessitate the use
  of PPE before assigning PPE to workers.

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Topics of Discussion

• What is Included?
• Head
• Eye
• Face
• Hearing
• Respiratory Protection
• Hands
• Foot
• Clothing

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Head Protection

• Hardhats
• Helmets

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How Hard Hats Protect You

• A rigid shell that resists and deflects blows
  to the head 
• Suspension system inside acts as a shock absorber
• Some hats serve as an insulator
  against  electrical shocks
• Shields your scalp, face, neck, and
  shoulders against splashes, spills, and drips
• Some can be modified so you can add face shields,
  goggles, hoods or hearing protection

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Hardhat Inspection

• Shells should be inspected for dents, cracks,
  gouges any damage from impact, penetration,
  abrasions, rough treatment or wear.
• Degradation of thermoplastic material may be
  apparent when the shell becomes stiff, brittle,
  faded, dull in color or chalky in appearance.
• Replace at the first sign of any of these
  conditions

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Eye Face Protection
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PPE for Impact Hazards

• Safety Glasses Primary protectors intended to
  shield the eyes from a variety of impact hazards
• Goggles Primary protectors intended to shield
  the eyes against flying fragments, objects, large
  chips, and particles.
• Face Shields Secondary protectors intended to
  protect the entire face against exposure to
  impact hazards

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Eyewear

• Some models have molded-in side shields and
  brow-guard for extra protection above and around
  eyes

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Eyes Goggles and Glasses

• Goggles
• Chemical Splash
• Impact
• Safety glasses

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Ventilated Goggles

• Ventilated goggles allow air circulation while
  providing protection against airborne particles,
  dust, liquids or light. Available with either
  Direct or Indirect ventilation

• Direct ventilation goggles
• Where strenuous work is done in hot conditions,
  'direct ventilation' goggles may be more
  suitable. However these are unsuitable for
  protection against chemicals, gases and dust

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Indirect Ventilation

• Indirect ventilation Goggles'Indirect
  ventilation' goggles are not perforated, but are
  fitted with baffled ventilators to prevent
  liquids and dust from entering. Indirect
  ventilation goggles will not protect against gas
  or vapor.

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Non-Ventilated Goggles

• Non-Ventilated Goggles
• Do not allow the passage of air into the goggle
• Prevent splash entry
• May fog and require frequent lens cleaning

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Faceshields

• DO NOT use any faceshield unless you also wear
  suitable primary eye protection devices
  (spectacles or goggles).
• Faceshields are heavier bulkier than other
  types of eye protector but are comfortable if
  fitted with an adjustable head harness.
• Faceshields protect the face but do not fully
  enclose the eyes and therefore do not protect
  against dusts, mist or gases
• Transparent face shields must be replaced when
  warped, scratched or brittle with age

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An Eye Saved by Safety Glasses

• While applying siding with an air powered staple
  gun, a staple hit a metal plate behind the
  siding, ricocheted back and one leg of the staple
  penetrated the wearers safety glasses' lens

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Hearing Protection
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EPA and ANSI

• EPA is responsible for determining adequacy of
  hearing protector attenuation (NRR).
• EPA adopts ANSIs protocol for making the
  determination
• ANSI has issued a new protocol for the labeling
  regulation for hearing protectors that has yet to
  be adopted by EPA
• EPA is collecting information on revising their
  labeling regulation

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Hearing Protection

• Ear plugs
• Ear muffs
• Audiometric testing
• More information provided in training on hearing
  conservation

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Respiratory Protection
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Respirators

• A hazardous task assessment may be done to
  determine if you need to wear a respirator
• If you are required to wear a respirator you will
  be included in our respiratory protection program
• You must be medically cleared to wear a respirator

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Respirator Selection
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Respirators

• In addition to the initial fit-test, wearers must
  check the seal of their respirators every time
  they put them on
• User seal checks are necessary to ensure that the
  respirator has been put on correctly

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Dust Masks

• Only suitable for
• non-hazardous,
• non-respirable nuisance dusts.
• If your employer provides respirators for your
  voluntary use, or if you provide your own
  respirator, you need to take certain precautions
  to be sure that the respirator itself does not
  present a hazard.

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Respirator Ratings
Many different types available

• N if they are not resistant to oil
• R if somewhat resistant to oil, and
• P if strongly resistant (oil proof).

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Hood Respirators

• Helmet or hood respirators can be effective in
  
  protecting workers with facial hair, or in other
  applications where conventional respirators do
  not provide adequate fit, comfort or protection.
  
  

HEPA filtered powered air purifying respirator
(PAPR)
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Hand Protection
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Why Its Important

• It has been estimated that almost 20 of all
  disabling accidents on the job involve the hands
• Some examples of traumatic injuries to your
  hands 
• Cuts Tools and machines with a sharp edges
• Punctures Staples, screwdrivers, nails, chisels
  and stiff  wire
• Sprains, Crushing Injuries Getting your hands
  caught in machinery

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Hand Protection

• Gloves
• Cotton
• Leather
• Latex
• Viton
• Butyl
• Neoprene
• PVC
• Nitrile
• Other

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Disposable Vinyl

• Deliver comfort, flexibility, sensitivity
• Translucent white, 5-mil vinyl
• Non-allergenic alternative to latex
• Lightly-powdered or powder-free

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Coated Gloves

• Provide cut, puncture and abrasion-resistance
• Latex coating on palm, fingertips and thumb
• Crinkle finish for superior grip in wet and dry
  applications

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Coated Gloves

• Tacky nitrile coating for sure grip
• Light nylon shell for dexterity
• Offers better fit and grip than uncoated cotton
  or string knit gloves

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Reusable Latex

• Versatile, reusable Latex
• 18-mil, 100 natural latex excellent tensile
  strength and sensitivity good grip
• Resists detergents, acids, salts, caustics, fats
  and alcohol
• Cotton lining for ease of donning
• 12 length protects wrists and forearm

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Disposable Latex

• Strong, comfortable and economical
• Textured fingertips for secure grip
• Available lightly powdered or powder-free

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Latex Neoprene

• Comfort of latex plus the chemical protection of
  neoprene
• Provides excellent chemical resistance against
  acids, oils, grease, salts, animal fats and
  battery acid
• Resist puncture, tears and abrasion
• Ideal for auto and battery manufacturing,
  chemical plants, cleaning printing presses and
  wiping down machinery

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Butyl

• Offers greater resistance to gas and water vapors
  than Neoprene
• Provides greater safety when handling toxic
  substances like ketones, esters, etc

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PVC/Nitrile Gloves

• Gloves are PVC with nitrile-reinforced coating
• Textured to improve wet grip
• Cotton interlock liner for comfort

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Reusable Nitrile

• Excellent resistance to a variety of solvents and
  petroleum products
• Resist most liquids
• Resist cuts, snags, punctures, swelling and
  degradation by organic solvents and hydrocarbons

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Glove Selection

• Be sure you know which glove is appropriate for
  the chemical you are using

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Foot Protection
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Why Its Important

• Compression Injuries Heavy machinery, equipment,
  and other objects can roll over your feet. The
  result of these types of accidents is often
  broken or crushed bones.
• Injuries from Spills and Splashes Liquids such as
  acids, caustics, and molten metals can spill into
  your shoes and boots. These hazardous materials
  can cause chemical and heat burns.

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Foot Protection

• What kind of shoe should electricians wear?
• Shoes with non-conductive soles meeting the
  requirements of ANSI Z41 PT9l (M/F) I-75 C-75
  EH.  "EH" represents the "electrical hazard"
  designation.

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Types of Foot Protection

• Work shoes
• Boots
• Steel-toed shoes boots

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Foot Protection

• Other options in steel-toed shoes

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Protective Clothing and Vests

• Uniforms
• Disposable clothing
• Vests
• Cooling
• Visibility
• Cold weather
  protection