Personal Protective Equipment
Personal protective equipment is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer’s body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, electrical, heat, chemicals, bio hazards, and airborne particulate matter.
Protective equipment may be worn for job-related occupational safety and health purposes, as well as for sports and other recreational activities. “Protective clothing” is applied to traditional categories of clothing, and “protective gear” applies to items such as pads, guards, shields, or masks, and others. PPE suits can be similar in appearance to a cleanroom suit.
The purpose of personal protective equipment is to reduce employee exposure to hazards when engineering controls and administrative controls are not feasible or effective to reduce these risks to acceptable levels. PPE is needed when there are hazards present. PPE has the serious limitation that it does not eliminate the hazard at the source and may result in employees being exposed to the hazard if the equipment fails.
Defensive hardware might be worn for work related word related well being and health purposes, just as for sports and other recreational exercises. “Defensive apparel” is applied to customary classifications of attire, and “defensive apparatus” applies to things, for example, cushions, monitors, shields, or covers, and others. PPE suits can be comparable in appearance to a cleanroom suit.
The motivation behind close to home defensive hardware is to diminish worker introduction to perils when engineering controls and administrative controls are not possible or compelling to lessen these dangers to worthy levels. PPE is required when there are risks present. PPE has the genuine constraint that it doesn’t wipe out the danger at the source and may bring about workers being presented to the risk if the gear comes up short.
PPE can be considered in the following categories, based on the type of protection afforded by the equipment:
- Respiratory protection – for example, disposable, cartridge, air line, half or full face
- Eye protection – for example, spectacles/goggles, shields, visors
- Hearing protection – for example, ear muffs and plugs
- Hand protection – for example, gloves and barrier creams
- Foot protection – for example, shoes/boots
- Head protection – for example, helmets, caps, hoods, hats
- Working from heights – for example, harness and fall arrest devices
- Skin protection – for example, hats, sunburn cream, long sleeved clothes
- Other personal protective equipment: This may include PPE for specific tasks such disposable clothing for working with chemicals, radiation hazards, welding, painting. Examples include: lead aprons for x-ray protection; sleeve protectors, aprons, coveralls when using chemicals; leather jackets, trousers and spats for welding; thermal and cold protective clothing for work near furnaces and cool rooms.