Environmental Health and Safety

XV Personal Protection Equipment

• General Requirement and Policy.
• Hazard Assessment, PPE Selection, and Training.
• Responsibility of Departments and Administrative Units.
• Eye and Face Protection.
• Occupational Head Protection.
• Occupational Foot Protection.
• Respiratory Protection.
• Hearing Protection.
• Electrical Protective Devices.

General Requirement and Policy

Supervisors need to determine the personal protective equipment (PPE) needed for a particular operation, enforce the use of PPE, train, PPE users, and perform measures needed to comply with the OSHA PPE rules in 29 CFR 1910.132,133,135,136,138 as amended April 1994.  These rules apply to occupational operations or processes where head, face, foot, and skin hazards exposure exist, and the use safety equipment such as gloves, hard hats, face shields, safety glasses, and safety shoes needed. These requirements do not apply to respiratory protection, chemical protective clothing, and fall protection equipment.  In addition, other than voltage-protection hard hat requirement, these requirement do not apply to electrical protective devices such as rubber insulating gloves, shoes, blankets, hoods, sleeves, and line hoses or to fall protection.  These protectors are covered in separate rules. 13 NCAC07F.0101 requires employers to pay for PPE.

Hazard Assessment, PPE Selection, and Training

The supervisor needs to conduct a survey to collect, organize, and analyze information about hazards that require protective equipment.  The hazard assessment can be conducted facility wide, department-wide, by job task, or for each individual exposure.  The key to compliance is documenting the hazards (use Appendix B of Subpart I of 29CFR1910 as a guide), then reducing or eliminating the hazards, and where that’s not feasible, providing and reducing the use of PPE.  The hazard evaluation does not have to be in writing but supervisors must verify that the hazard assessment have been done through a written certification.

Written certification of assessment must include:

1. The identification of the workplace evaluated
2. The person certifying that the evaluation has been performed
3. The date of the assessment

After the assessment has been conducted, the employees must be trained in: 

1. When PPE is needed
2. What PPE is needed
3. How to properly don, doff, adjust, and wear PPE
4. The limitations of the PPE
5. The proper care, maintenance, useful life, and disposal of the PPE.

Training needs to be verified through a written certification that contains:

1. The name of employee trained
2. The date of the training
3. The subject of the certification

Assessment and certification forms (Appendix A) Personnel Protective Equipment Requirements.  For example, for chemical splash goggles, the supervisor might point out what they protect against, how to wear them, how to adjust them, what they don’t protect against (UV radiation, welding arcs, intense light, etc.), how to clean and store safely and finally, know when maintenance/replacement is required.

Responsibility of Departments and Administrative Units

The provision of necessary personal protective equipment, and requiring employees to wear PPE at all appropriate times, is the responsibility of individual Departments and Units.

Individual departments and administrative units utilizing their own funds shall meet all needs and requirements for personal protective equipment and devices.

The maintenance of personal protective equipment in a sanitary, usable, and reliable condition is a shared responsibility of the employee and the department. The issue and recovery of equipment, replacement of worn or defective equipment, and additional inventory to meet current needs is the responsibility of individual departments.

Eye and Face Protection

Faculty, staff, students, contractors, and visitors are required to wear eye protection when involved in shop, laboratory, or experimental activities involving:

1. Hot solids, liquids, or molten metals
2. Milling, sawing, turning shaping, cutting, or stamping of any solid materials
3. Heat treatment, tempering, or kiln firing of any metal or other material.
4. Gas or electric arc welding.
5. Repair or servicing of any vehicle.
6. Caustic or explosive chemicals or materials.

Eye protection must conform to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standard Z87.1 1968 Practices for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection.  All safety glasses shall have side shields.

Occupational Head Protection

Helmets for the protection of the heads from impact and penetration from falling, flying objects, from limited electric shock and burn, shall meet the requirements and specifications established in American National Standards Institute Safety requirements for head protection, ANSI Z89.1 1969.

• Type 1  - helmet, full brim
• Type 2  - helmet, brimless, w/peak
• Class A - Limited voltage protection
• Class B - high voltage protection
• Class C - no voltage protection
• Class D - limited voltage protection, fire fighters’ service Type 1 only

Occupational Foot Protection

Employee will be provided one pair per year, cost not to exceed $75.00. Employee requiring more expensive and/or custom-made shoes must pay all cost over $ 75.00 per year. Each employee is responsible for payment of safety shoes in excess of $75.00 at the time of purchase. Replacement of lost or stolen safety shoes will be the responsibility of the employee.

Respiratory Protection

Respirator Protection will be provided in accordance with the OSHA Standard. The type and condition of use and other requirements for respirators appears in Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29Part 1910.134 of Subpart I. Personal Protective Equipment, OSHA Standards.

Hearing Protection

Hearing Protection shall be provided in accordance with 29 CFR 1910. 95(G)

Electrical Protective Devices

Rubber protective equipment for electrical workers shall conform to ANSI as follows: