X INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LIVE MAINTENANCE ICOLIM 2011

Bogumił Dudek1
Jerzy Nowikow2
Waldemar Skomudek3

Complete arc flash personal protective equipment for

electricians

Abstract:
The most dangerous effects of the operation of electrical devices are short circuit and overvoltage.
Related hazards for maintenance personnel shall be eliminated or significantly reduced [1]. In 2007-
2011 a series of tests of arc flash personal protective equipment for electricians was carried out in
accordance with PN-EN 61 482. The tests were carried out for electrical safety gloves, protective
clothing and safety helmets with face shield. The test results validate the protection efficiency. The
latest test results for helmets with face shield are presented. The tests were carried out by the
laboratories in Germany and Poland.

I. Causes of an electric arc

The most common causes of an electric arc in power networks are short circuit and
overvoltage. From the maintenance personnel point of view, the short circuit is more significant, since
it can be caused by the personnel itself during maintenance.
An electric power system as a system of interconnected and cooperating devices generating,
transmitting, distributing and processing electric energy into other forms of energy shall meet the
technical and economical requirements to provide high energy quality, consumer supply reliability, low
maintenance costs, network operation management efficiency as well as safety of a maintenance
personnel and an end user. The significance of quality, especially continuity of power supply increases
as the complexity of production processes increases. It forces the energy suppliers to use the
technical and organizational solutions to reduce the failure rate of electric power systems and its
components. Among the factors causing the damage of power system components the most
significant are the defects in materials and workmanship, local damage of insulation, extreme weather
conditions, as well as internal overvoltage and lightning surges (direct or indirect). All the factors cause
significant hazards for maintenance personnel, devices and components of electric power systems.

1
EPC S.A.
2
HUBIX
3
Politechnika Opolska
 A control of fault currents due to connection, thermal and dynamic strength of instrumentation,
substation design, cables, live and ground conductors of overhead lines - requires correct
configuration of a network structure. The easy way to limit fault current with a modification of network
configuration is its sectionalisation. The distribution of power system is a basic method to limit fault
current in local electric power systems. The fault current path and fault loop impedance can be
changed by switching the network components.
Limiting fault current as a result of system operations affects the power infrastructure. A
significant part of a maintenance process is maintenance personnel, subject to health and life hazard
due to even low fault currents. A special attention shall be paid to proper selection and use of
protective equipment [2].
The standards which specify working conditions of electric device operation (PN-EN 50110)
forbid electric works to be carried out during storms. For live working, maintenance switching and
other scheduled operations which may result in switching overvoltage at the maintained electric circuit
are forbidden. A method of switching (sectionalisation) before scheduled works to maintain full control
of fault current level is rarely used and is permissible. The other issues are personnel qualifications
and skills.

II. Causes of electrical work accidents

When qualifications and skills fail, an accident may occur. An accident at work is defined as a
sudden, external event, during the execution of work or arising out of it, which may lead to an injury
and/or fatality. The causes are all deficiencies and irregularities which directly or indirectly caused the
accident, related with technical factors, general organisation of labour or workstation and related to
personnel. Each accident at work is a result of several different causes, and the sum of causes
exceeds total number of accidents. There are almost 2 thousand electrical work accidents in Poland
every year. The distribution (for a power corporation) is shown in Table 1, and the share of human
factor is shown in Table 2.
Table 1. The distribution of severe and fatal accidents at power industry electrical equipment (author’s
own research)
Accident Percentage of accidents by voltage level (%)
consequenc
es
up to 6 15 kV 20 kV 30 kV 110 kV 220 kV 400 kV 1-30 110-
kV kV 400 kV
fatal 16.3 60.4 7.2 2.0 9.0 4.1 1.0 85.9 14.1
severe 17.9 64.0 8.0 1.9 1.4 - 6.8 91.8 8.2

Table 2. Percentage of human causes in severe and fatal accidents in power industry
 Percentage of accident
Human causes causes
severe fatal
Work in breach of safety rules 22.9 41.4
Work without permit 22.8 19.8
Lack of attention 16.6 11.9
Lack of workstation markings and fencing 6.9 9.9
No voltage check 13.8 7.9
Voltage not disconnected due to a 10.3 7.9
mistake or switch damage
Use of devices other than intended 9.3 7.9
Lack of protective equipment 11.0 6.9
Inconsideration, recklessness and haste 8.3 6.6

The most common causes for fatal accidents:

• Current effect on heart and respiratory system - 91%
• Burns - 44%,
• Fall from height - 15.3%.
Percentage of accident causes is presented below.

CAUSES OF ELECTRICAL WORK

ACCIDENTS

TECHNICAL ORGANISATIONAL HUMAN

18.7% 39.2% 80.3%

caused by e.g.: caused by e.g.: caused by e.g.:

• structural device • no permission to • lack of protective

defects, work, equipment,
• installation • lack of • non-observance
defects, instructions, of safety
• insulation • lack of instructions,
damage. supervision. • haste.

A bad organisation of labour, affected by improper, arbitrary or abnormal behaviour of

personnel is a cause of 74-81% accidents in Poland in recent years. Improper technical solutions
constitute only 10 - 18%, and at the same time a distinct downward trend is noticeable.
Although personnel behaviour is examined by the psychologists, the solutions to protect
personnel in conditions in which the accidents take place are constantly examined.

III. Reasons to use arc flash personal protective equipment

One of the most serious hazards during maintenance of electrical devices is an arc flash, one
of the most dangerous phenomena in the field of electrical power engineering due to associated
extreme conditions. High temperature, high pressure wave and particles of molten metal moving with
the speed of several hundred kilometres per hour are the main hazards resulting from the arc flash.
The personnel are subject to burns, injuries caused by molten metal particles, suffocation from smoke,
sight and hearing impairment and death.
The accident rate tests carried out in the 90s by UNIPEDE (DIS.LIVE Group) for live working
due to increased share in maintenance works allowed the causes for accidents to be recognized. ISSA
studies highlighted the qualifications of employees and initiated the drawing up of requirements and
tests of arc flash personal protective equipment. The arc flash can be caused by a human error
resulting in the short circuit of an electrical system. It is caused by unskilful handling of structural
components near electrical circuits, use of incorrect tools with metal heads etc. The design of arc flash
personal protective equipment is coped with despite the lower accident rate for live maintenance of
low and medium voltage devices compared to switching. The researchers arrived at the conclusion,
that despite the errors at operation, personal protective clothing for electricians can significantly
reduce the effect of electric work accidents, irrespective of maintenance method used.
Marketing of materials with proper thermal properties have improved a design of safety
clothing. A technological development of live working resulted in improvement of hand protection in
form of electrical safety gloves covered by PN-EN 60903, although the gloves were only recently
tested for the effects of exposure to the thermal hazards of an electric arc. The subject was widely
discussed at the ICOLIM conferences, five reports were dedicated to this subject at the last
conference in Toruń in 2008. Testing of arc flash resistance with the use of new solutions for helmets
with face shield developed in Poland has just been completed.
Complete arc flash personal protective equipment is available in Poland both for standard and
live working on low and medium voltage. The open question is the use of personal protective
equipment in combination with a risk level assessment.

IV. Use of arc flash protective clothing

The most serious and severe effects of arc flash are burns, which may lead to permanent
injuries [9]. Standard working clothing made of cotton, polyester, polyamide, viscose and other
materials may ignite and burn. It is important to use protective clothing made of suitable fabric with
specific properties. A PN-EN 61482-1-2 “Live working. Protective clothing against the thermal hazards
of an electric arc” standard, which is a final version of ENV 50354, specifies methods for testing
materials and clothing for use in slow-burning garments for use by the personnel exposed to electric
arc.
Several types of clothing, both imported and manufactured in Poland from imported materials
are in use. Material and clothing testing was carried out for the garments by the laboratory of Ilmenau
University.
A clothing providing protection against the thermal hazards of an electric arc during live
working is a slow-burning garment made of e.g. INDURA® Ultra Soft® antistatic consisting of top and
overalls. The garment is certified by internationally renowned notified body: STFI, Chemnitz.
The fabric is an excellent solution for production of fire retardant clothing and clothing
providing protection against the thermal hazards of an electric arc. The fire retardant finish is applied
directly on the fibres, and the fire retardant properties are maintained for the whole life cycle,
irrespective of the number of washing cycles. High cotton content allows optimum comfort and special
polyamide fibre reinforces the fabric and improves thermal energy absorption. Fabric content: 87%
cotton, 12% polyamide, 1% carbon; grammage: 320 g; ATPV: 12.7. The fabric meets the requirements
of ENV 50354 and PN-EN 61482-1-2.
The tests carried out for the fabric in accordance with class 1 at 4 kA (class 2 at 7 kA, 400 V,
30 mm electrode distance and 30 cm dummy distance is also available) showed that the after flame
time is below 5 sec., there is no melting to the inner side of the fabric, there are no cracks and no
holes over 5 mm in diameter, and all eight measurement pairs for heat transfer were below the Stoll
curve. The results guarantee that the garment made of INDURA fabric can protect the personnel
against second degree burns. All accessories, i.e. reflective strips, threads, embroidery and appliqué
designs are made of fire retardant materials and do not affect the after flame time, melting and other
garment properties. The data was acquired from ORIO, Zduńska Wola. See Fig. 1 - Fig. 6, Annex 1.1.

V. Electrical safety gloves also protect against the effects of an electric arc
All tests on resistance of garment to electric arc are carried out for electrical safety gloves
also. The current tests were carried out by the laboratory of the Warsaw University of Technology,
Department of High Voltage Engineering and Electrical Apparatus in 2006 [4]. The electric arc
resistance tests for gloves manufactured in Poland ELSEC class 00, 1 and 2 are positive in
accordance with CLC/TS 50354: 2003, since the electric arc did not cause:
• ignition of the gloves,
• burned holes,
• surface melting,
i.e. damage caused by an electric arc, which may be recognized as deviation from the standard
requirements.
Dark stains on the glove surface (Annex 1.1, Fig. 9) are the marks of melted copper wire
initiating the electric arc between electrodes, which did not cause gloves melting. Secura B.C. ELSEC
gloves meet the requirements of other standards, except for the basic PN-EN 60903. See Fig. 7 - Fig.
9, Annex 1.1.

VI. New - electric arc flash safety helmets

HUBIX SECRA safety helmets have been positively tested for the structural resistance to arc
flash. The arc parameters correspond to class 1 in accordance with EN 61482-1-2. The tests similar to
the tests for clothing were carried out by the laboratory of Ilmenau University [5] - Fig. Annex 1.2. and
1.3. Detailed documentation of the test conditions was drawn up for the tests. The test results
confirmed that the helmet design effectively protects the user against arc flash. The tests were carried
out in a test chamber, where 4 kA/0.5 sec., 135 kJ/m2 current flow was initiated, and the effect on the
human head was imitated by the dummy head with 4 calorimeters installed. The results were positive -
the helmet protects the head as effectively as the clothing and gloves. A long face shield providing
effective protection of chin and neck against the particles of melted metal and hot solids is worthy of
note. The tests were carried out by the laboratories of the Central Institute for Labour Protection in
Warsaw and certified that the performance requirements for helmets and face shields were met [6],
[7].
The tests in accordance with EN 166 Personal eye protection. Specifications - protection
against electric arc (item 7.2.7) specify the parameters for the face shields. A minimum face shield
thickness is defined for materials specified in the standard, e.g. polycarbonate, cellulose acetate,
cellulose propane. According to available test reports, the minimum thickness is 1.4 mm, and the
transmission coefficient is determined for the UV protection. Additional tests in accordance with
German standard GS-ET-29, not included in EN 166, concerning arc tests determine visible light
transmission (VLT) for three light sources. Maximum UV transmission coefficient at 313 nm shall not
exceed 0.0003% (Fig.3, Annex 1.3), and 10% at 365 nm. Transmission coefficient is determined for a
visible light. A single light source in accordance with EN 170 (D65, must exceed 74.4%), and three
light sources (incandescent lamp, fluorescent lamp and LED, must exceed 75%) in accordance with
GS-ET-29 are used.
Also standard electric tests of all described products (electric strength and leakage current)
are carried out and the requirements are met. Electric testing of the equipment shall be carried out in a
properly equipped laboratory by qualified and authorized personnel. Instrumentation shall meet the
requirements of relevant regulations (standards) concerning test methods and procedures, and shall
be calibrated and accredited by an authorized institution. The conditions of tests referred to herein
were met.

Reference:
[1] Rozp. Ministra Gospodarki, Pracy i Polityki Społecznej z dnia 31 marca 2003 r. w sprawie
zasadniczych wymagań dla środków ochrony indywidualnej (Dz. U. Nr 80, poz. 725).
[2] Skomudek W.: Analiza i ocena skutków przepięć w elektroenergetycznych sieciach średniego i
wysokiego napięcia. Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Opolskiej, Opole 2008.
[3] Giża A., Dudek B., Nowikow J.: Ubiory ochronne do prac pod napięciem – wymagania
normalizacyjne, a praktyka, X Konferencja PPN, Łódź 2010
[4] Łoboda M., Piłaciński W.: Badania odporności na działanie łuku elektrycznego środków ochrony
indywidualnej do prac pod napięciem na przykładzie rękawic elektroizolacyjnych, IX Konferencja PPN,
Gdańsk, 2007 s.95-101
[5] Schau H.: Technical expertise: Behaviour of the helmet visor combination SECRA HELMET H058S
tested against the thermal hazards of an electric arc on the base of test procedure GS-ET 29 (BG-
Prüfzert) and EN 61482‐1‐2 (modified) ‐ class 1 test ‐ mai 2010
[6] CIOP PIB: Badania hełmów ochronnych typ SECRA, 2010
[7] CIOP PIB: Badania osłony twarzy hełmu elektroizolacyjnego, 2010
[8] Skomudek W.: Assessment of overvoltage hazard for the polymer insulation of medium voltage
electricity distribution cables. CIGRE Gen. Session 2008, rep. B1-201.
[9] ISSA: Guideline for the selection of personal protective clothing when exposed to the thermal
effects of an electric arc

Relevant standards:
PN-EN 50286:2003 i /AC:2005 “Electrical insulating protective clothing for low-voltage installations”

PN-EN 50321:2002 “Electrically insulating footwear for working on low voltage installation”
PN-EN 50365:2005 “Electrically insulating helmets for use on low voltage installations”
PN-EN 60903:2006 “Live working - Gloves of insulating material”
Annex 1
1.1 Live working PPE - arc flash protective clothing

Fig. 1 Position of a test dummy Fig. 2 Exposure of fitter body to Fig. 3 A clothed dummy torso
torso opposite the test the effect of an arc flash as per prepared for the tests
chamber ISSA

Fig. 4 Generated electric arc Fig. 5 Garment exposed to arc Fig. 6 Test results are recorded
(box test) flash – no fabric burns on special forms

Fig. 7 Standard electric tests Fig. 8 Generated electric arc Fig. 9 4 and 7 kA arc test
for ELSEC gloves (box test) results - positive
Fig. 1-6 B. Dudek; Fig. 7-9 SECURA B.C.
1.2 Live working PPE - arc flash safety helmet

Fig. 1 Configuration of calorimeters at heat transfer tests during arc flash in accordance with GS-
ET-29

Fig. 2 Helmet at the test bed Fig. 3 Test chamber

Fig. 4 Effect of arc flash on helmet Fig. 5 After the test - no damage
1.3 Live working PPE - arc flash safety helmet; the results

Fig. 1 Configuration of 4 calorimeters at heat transfer tests during arc flash - dummy head position

Fig. 2 Test bed in accordance with PN-EN 61

482 -1 -2:2007 (box test)

Fig. 3 UV transmission coefficient for the face Fig. 4 Arc parameters and readout for 4
shield calorimeters – below the Stoll curve
Fig. 1- 4 HUBIX