OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

Course Referance:
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)
LECTURE 13
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)

To ensure the greatest possible protection for employees in the workplace, the
cooperative efforts of both employers and employees will help in establishing and
maintaining a safe and. healthful work environment.

In some cases, Personal Protection Equipment should be used.

But, do not forget it is a last step in control of the risk hierarchy.

Head, hand, back, eye, face, foot, skin & breathing protection all involve the
use of PPE—a critical component in the safety program of most firms.

control hierarchy
1)Elimination
2)Substitution
3)Engineering Controls
4)Administrative Controls
5)Personal Protection Equipment
WHY IS PPE?

Even where engineering controls and safe systems of work have been applied, some
hazards might remain.

These include injuries to:

•the lungs,may be damaged by breathing in contaminated air
•the head and feet, may be hit by falling materials
•the eyes, could be injured by flying particles or splashes of corrosive liquids
•the skin, may come into contact with corrosive materials
•the body, may be injured by temperature extremes
 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

¡ Making employees comfortable with PPE is a serious, sometimes difficult challenge.

¡ They don’t like the way it looks or how it feels.
¡ They think it is cumbersome in which to work in or time consuming to put on and take off.
¡ Sometimes, they just forget to use it.
¡ Provide comprehensive education and training programs.
¡ Employees need to understand why PPE is important, and how to properly use it.
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
¡ Strategies can be used to meet this challenge:
¡ Maximum use of engineering/administrative controls.
¡ Use every control available to minimize potential hazards.

¡ Ensure optimum PPE choice by using risk assessment.

¡ OSHA requires that PPE be selected on the basis of a comprehensive risk assessment.

¡ Involve employees in all aspects of the PPE program.

¡ Employees may be able to provide input that will improve the quality of the decisions being made.
¡ Employees who are involved in the decision making are more likely to buy into and support that decision.
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

¡ Strategies can be used to meet this challenge:

¡ Reinforce the proper PPE use & challenge improper use.
¡ Employers should never take PPE use for granted—proper behavior should be reinforced by supervisors and
managers.

¡ Be clear on who pays for PPE.

¡ OSHA requires the employer to pay for basic minimal PPE.

¡ Be sensitive to fit, comfort, and style issues.

¡ Ill-fitting PPE may not provide the necessary protection, and if it does not fit well, employees may be reluctant
to wear it.

¡ Work to make PPE a normal part of the uniform.

¡ When this happens, using PPE becomes standard operating procedure, and proper use will cease to be an
issue.
HEAD PROTECTION

¡ Approximately 25% of workplace accidents each year involve objects that become
projectiles.
¡ Falling objects are involved in many of these accidents.
¡ About 120,000 people sustain head injuries on the job each year.
¡ In spite of the fact that many were wearing hard hats.
HEAD PROTECTION

¡ Originally introduced in 1919, the first hard hats in an industrial setting were inspired by
the helmets worn by soldiers in World War I.
¡ Today’s hard hats are typically made from polyethylene, a thermoplastic material, using an
injection-molding process.

¡ The use of hard hats in industrial settings in which falling objects are likely has been
mandated by federal law since 1971.
 HEAD PROTECTION

¡ Hard hats are designed to provide limited protection from impact, primarily to the top of
the head.
¡ To reduce impact transmitted to head, neck, and spine.
¡ It is important to wear them properly.
¡ Never wear them backwards.
HEAD PROTECTION
Industrial safety helmets, hairnets

Some safety helmets incorporate or can be fitted

with specially-designed eye or hearing protection

Replacehead protection if it is damaged.

EYE AND FACE PROTECTION
¡ Eye & face protection are critical in the workplace.
¡ Nearly half of accidents occurred in manufacturing, with just over 20% in construction.
¡ Flying particles cause most eye injuries.
¡ 70% resulted from flying or falling objects or sparks.
¡ About 20% were caused by contact with chemicals.
EYE AND FACE PROTECTION

¡ Three out of every five workers with eye injuries weren’t wearing eye protection, or not
wearing the right kind of eye protection.

WRAP-AROUND SAFETY GLASSES

 EYE AND FACE PROTECTION
¡ Eye and face protection typically consist of safety glasses, safety goggles, or face
shields.

Hood with facemask.

Make sure the eye protection chosen has the right combination of impact/dust/splash/molten
metal eye protection for the task and fits the user properly
ASSESSING THE WORKPLACE FOR EYE HAZARDS

¡ OSHA recommendations for workplace assessment:

¡ Do employees perform tasks, or work near others who perform tasks that may produce airborne
dust or flying particles?
¡ Do employees handle, or work near others who handle hazardous liquid chemicals or blood?
¡ Do employees work in conditions in which their lenses may become fogged?
¡ Do employees work in situations that may expose their eyes to chemical or physical irritants?
¡ Do employees work in situations that may expose their eyes to intense light or lasers?
REQUIREMENTS FOR VISION PROTECTION DEVICES

¡ OSHA criteria for selecting vision protection devices:

¡ Select devices that protect against specific hazard(s) identified in that assessment.
¡ Select devices as comfortable as possible to wear.
¡ Select devices that do not restrict vision in any way.
¡ Select devices with fogging prevention capabilities built-in.
¡ Select durable, easy to clean, easy to disinfect devices
¡ Select devices that do not interfere with the functioning of other personal protective equipment.
TRAINING
¡ OSHA recommends training employees on the following topics:
¡ Why it is important to use the eye protection devices.
¡ How the devices protect the eyes.
¡ Limitations of the devices.
¡ When the devices should be used.
¡ How the devices are properly worn.
¡ How straps are adjusted for both effectiveness and comfort.
¡ How the employee can identify signs of wear that may lessen the effectiveness of the devices.
¡ How the devices are cleaned & disinfected and how often.
AID FOR EYE INJURIES
¡ When an employee sustains an eye injury:
¡ Be gentle with the employee.
¡ Don’t add to the injury with rough treatment.
¡ Do not attempt to remove objects embedded in the eyeball.
¡ Rinse the eyes with a copious amount of water for 15 to 30 minutes to remove the chemicals.
¡ Call for professional help.
¡ Cover both eyes after the rinsing has been completed.
¡ Never press on an injured eye or put any pressure on it (as when covering the eyes).
¡ Do not allow the employee to rub his or her eyes.
CONTACT LENSES IN A CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT
¡ Environments in which contacts lens should not be worn include those in which certain
chemicals are present, such as:
¡ 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP).
¡ 4,4’-methylene dianiline (MDA).
¡ Ethyl or Isopropyl alcohol; Ethylene oxide; Methylene chloride.
 FOOT PROTECTION
¡ Foot and toe injuries account for almost 20% of all disabling workplace injuries
¡ Over 180,000 workplace foot & toe injuries each year.
¡ Major injury types to the foot & toes:
¡ Falls or impact from sharp or heavy objects.
¡ Compression when rolled over/pressed by heavy objects.
¡ Punctures through the sole of the foot.
¡ Conductivity of electricity or heat.
¡ Electrocution from an energized, conducting material.
¡ Slips on unstable walking surfaces.
¡ Hot liquid/metal splashed into shoes or boots.
¡ Temperature extremes
FOOT PROTECTION

¡ The key to protecting workers’ feet & toes involves:

¡ Identify the various types of hazards present in the workplace.
¡ Identify the types of footwear available to counter the hazards.
¡ Require that proper footwear be worn.
FOOT PROTECTION
¡ The best safety boots provide these types of protection:
¡ Steel toe for impact protection.
¡ Rubber or vinyl for chemical protection.
¡ Puncture-resistant soles for protection against sharp objects.
¡ Slip-resistant soles for protection against slippery surfaces.
¡ Electricity-resistant material for protection from electric shock.
FOOT PROTECTION

¡ Employers are not required to provide footwear for employees, but are required to
provide training on foot protection:
¡ Conditions when protective footwear should be worn.
¡ Type of footwear needed in a given situation.
¡ Limitations of protective footwear.
¡ Proper use of protective footwear.
HAND PROTECTION

¡ There are more than 500,000 hand injuries every year—both serious and costly for
employers and for employees.

¡ According to the OHS law employers to base selection of hand protection (gloves) on a
comprehensive assessment of the tasks performed for a given job, hazards present, and
the duration of exposure to the hazards.
¡ The assessment must be documented in writing.
HAND PROTECTION

¡ Selecting the right gloves is not a simple task.

¡ A poorly fitted set of gloves cannot offer the degree of protection that a responsible employer or
employee wants.
¡ The only way to determine whether a pair fits properly is for the employee to try them on.

¡ Other critical features include, protection capability, comfort, and tactile sensitivity of the
gloves.
¡ Greater comfort/tactile sensitivity can mean less protection.
¡ Greater protection can mean less comfort & tactile sensitivity.
HAND PROTECTION
¡ Hand-protection standard simplifies glove selection by defining characteristics of
protection, and standardizing tests to measure them.
¡ Cuts, puncture resistance, abrasion.
¡ Protection from cold and heat; flame/heat resistance.
¡ Chemical resistance (permeation and degradation).
¡ Viral penetration, dexterity, liquid-tightness.

Chemical & Solvent Resistant

Gauntlet
COMMON GLOVE MATERIALS

¡ Depending on individual hazards in a given situation, the right gloves for the job may be
made of a variety of different materials.

Rubber work gloves

Work gloves
 COMMON GLOVE MATERIALS
¡ Most widely used materials in making gloves are:
¡ Leather - Offers comfort, excellent abrasion resistance, and minimum cut resistance.
¡ Cotton - Offers comfort, minimal abrasion resistance, and minimum cut resistance.
¡ Aramids - Offer comfort, good abrasion resistance, excellent cut resistance, and excellent heat
resistance.
¡ Polyethylene - Offers comfort, excellent abrasion resistance, and minimal cut resistance.
¡ Should not be subjected to high temperatures.

¡ Stainless steel cord (wrapped in synthetic fiber) - Offers comfort, good abrasion resistance, and
optimal cut resistance.
¡ Chain link or metal mesh - Offers very little comfort, but maximum abrasion and cut resistance.
¡ Butyl rubber - Little comfort, but excellent resistance to heat, ozone, tearing, and certain chemicals.
¡ Nitrile-based material - Offers greater comfort and protection, and there is increased use of this type
of material for the substrate coating of glasses.
¡ Viton rubber - Little comfort, but performs well with chemicals that butyl rubber cannot protect against,
including aliphatics, halogenated, and aromatics.
¡ Also perform well in handling alcohols, gases, and acids.
EAR PROTECTION

Noise –a combination of sound level and duration of exposure, very high-level

sounds are a hazard even with short duration
LUNG PROTECTION

Oxygen-deficient atmospheres, dusts, gases and vapours

•The right type of respirator filter must be used as each is effective for only a
limited range of substances respiratory
protective
equipment (RPE)
WHOLE BODY

Heat, chemical or metal splash, spray from pressure

leaks or spray guns, contaminated dust, impact or
penetration.

•Options
Conventional or disposable overalls, aprons, chemical
suits
CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO THE REGULATION ON HEALTH AND SAFETY
PRECAUTIONS IN WORKING WITH CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES
Most safety signs and symbols fall into one of
four categories:

•Prohibition
•Warning
•Mandatory
•Emergency
warning signs-(have to use) white text and icon on blue sheet