Usage of personal protective equipment

The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is inherent in the theory of universal precaution, which requires specialized clothing or equipment for the protection of individuals from hazard. The term is defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is responsible for PPE regulation, as the “equipment that protects employees from serious injury or illness resulting from contact with chemical, radiological, physical, electrical, mechanical, or other hazards.” While there are common forms of PPEs such as gloves, eye shields, and respirators, the standard set in the OSHA definition indicates a wide coverage. This means that PPE involves a sizable range of equipment. There are several ways to classify them such as how gears could be physiological or environmental. The following list, however, sorts personal protective equipment according to function and body area.

PPE by usage

Usage of personal protective equipment in Combat

The modern PPE used in combat has been increasingly designed to address the emergent dangers poised in the increasing mix of conventional and unconventional conflicts demonstrated in the American experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. The combat protective equipment today is often typified by flame resistance, improved body armor, and reduced weight, among other advances. The gears are shown in the following list, which includes PPEs for defense against ballistic weapons are commonly worn by military and law enforcement personnel.

Shield

A shield is held in the hand or arm. Its purpose is to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or by glancing a blow to the side of the shield-user. Shields vary greatly in size, ranging from large shields that protect the user’s entire body to small shields that are mostly for use in hand-to-hand combat. Shields also vary a great deal in thickness; whereas some shields were made of thick wooden planking, to protect soldiers from spears and crossbow bolts, other shields were thinner and designed mainly for glancing blows away (such as a sword blow). In prehistory, shields were made of wood, animal hide, or wicker. In antiquity and in the Middle Ages, shields were used by foot soldiers and mounted soldiers. Even after the invention of gunpowder and firearms, shields continued to be used. In the 18th century, Scottish clans continued to use small shields, and in the 19th century, some non-industrialized peoples continued to use shields. In the 20th and 21st century, shields are used by military and police units that specialize in anti-terrorist action, hostage rescue, and siege-breaching.

Torso

A ballistic vest helps absorb the impact from firearm-fired projectiles and shrapnel from explosions, and is worn on the torso. Soft vests are made from many layers of woven or laminated fibers and can be capable of protecting the wearer from small caliber handgun and shotgun projectiles, and small fragments from explosives such as hand grenades.

Metal or ceramic plates can be used with a soft vest, providing additional protection from rifle rounds, and metallic components or tightly-woven fiber layers can give soft armor resistance to stab and slash attacks from a knife. Soft vests are commonly worn by police forces, private citizens and private security guards or bodyguards, whereas hard-plate reinforced vests are mainly worn by combat soldiers, police tactical units and hostage rescue teams.

Modern body armor may combine a ballistic vest with other items of protective clothing, such as a combat helmet. Vests intended for police and military use may also include ballistic shoulder and side protection armor components, and bomb disposal officers wear heavy armor and helmets with face visors and spine protection.

Head

A combat helmet are among the oldest forms of personal protective equipment, and are known to have been worn by the Assyrians around 900BC, followed by the ancient Greeks and Romans, throughout the Middle Ages, and up to the end of the 1600s by many combatants. Their materials and construction became more advanced as weapons became more and more powerful. Initially constructed from leather and brass, and then bronze and iron during the Bronze and Iron Ages, they soon came to be made entirely from forged steel in many societies after about 950AD. At that time, they were purely military equipment, protecting the head from cutting blows with swords, flying arrows, and low-velocity musketry. Today’s militaries often use high-quality helmets made of ballistic materials such as Kevlar and Aramid, which have excellent bullet and fragmentation stopping power. Some helmets also have good non-ballistic protective qualities, though many do not. Non-ballistic injuries may be caused by many things, such as concussive shockwaves from explosions, physical attacks, motor vehicle accidents, or falls.

A ballistic face mask, is designed to protect the wearer from ballistic threats. Ballistic face masks are usually made of kevlar or other bullet resistant materials and the inside of the mask may be padded for shock absorption, depending on the design. Due to weight restrictions, protection levels range only up to NIJ Level IIIA.

Respirator

A gas mask is worn over the face to protect the wearer from inhaling “airborne pollutants” and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Airborne toxic materials may be gaseous or particulate. Many gas masks include protection from both types. During riots where tear gas or CS-gas is employed by riot police, gas masks are commonly used by police and rioters alike.

Limbs

Protection of limbs from bombs is provided by a bombsuit.

Usage of personal protective equipment in Sports

Limbs

Gloves are frequently used to keep the hands warm, a function that is particularly necessary when cycling in cold weather. The hands are also relatively inactive, and do not have a great deal of muscle mass, which also contributes to the possibility of chill. Gloves are therefore vital for insulating the hands from cold, wind, and evaporative cooling. Putting a hand out to break a fall is a natural reaction, however, the hands are one of the more difficult parts of the body to repair. There is little or no spare skin, and immobilising the hands sufficiently to promote healing involves significant inconvenience to the patient. Fingerless gloves, have a lightly padded palm of leather (natural or synthetic), gel or other material. Full-finger gloves are useful in winter, when real warmth is not an issue. These are also generally waterproof but will become soggy in heavy rain.

Usage of personal protective equipment in Construction

Head

A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in workplace environments, such as construction sites, to protect the head from injury by falling objects, impact with other objects, debris, bad weather and electric shock. Inside the helmet is a suspension that spreads the helmet’s weight over the top of the head. It also provides a space of approximately 3 cm (1.2 inch) between the helmet’s shell and the wearer’s head so that if an object strikes the shell, the impact is less likely to be transmitted directly to the skull. Rigid plastic has been the most common material.

Respiratory system

A respirator is designed to protect the wearer from inhaling harmful dusts, fumes, vapors, and/or gases. Respirators come in a wide range of types and sizes used by the military, private industry, and the public. Respirators range from cheaper, single-use, disposable masks to reusable models with replaceable cartridges. There are two main categories: the air-purifying respirator, which forces contaminated air through a filtering element, and the air-supplied respirator, in which an alternate supply of fresh air is delivered. Within each category, different techniques are employed to reduce or eliminate noxious airborne contents. The term respirator in the hospital setting refers to the N95 filtering face piece masks that are commonly used to care for patients with Tuberculosis. There was much controversy over the use of these masks during the H1N1 outbreak of 2009.

PPE by body area

Protective headgear

Masks

Some masks made of hard material like those used by goaltenders in ice hockey (a goalie mask) and catchers in baseball as protection against being struck in the face.

• For gas masks and similar, see #Respiratory protection.
• See Mask (disambiguation)

Helmets

A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman’s helmet in the United Kingdom) without protective function are sometimes worn. Soldiers wear combat helmets, often made from Kevlar or other lightweight synthetic fibers.

The word helmet is derived from helm, an Old English word for a protective head covering.

Helmets are used for recreational activities and sports (e.g., jockeys in horse racing, American football, ice hockey, cricket, baseball, camogie, hurling and rock climbing); dangerous work activities such as construction, mining, riot police, military aviation, and in transportation (e.g. motorcycle helmets and bicycle helmets). Since the 1990s, most helmets are made from resin or plastic, which may be reinforced with fibers such as aramids.

Helmets of many different types have developed over time. Most early helmets had military uses, though some may have had more ceremonial than combat applications.

Two important helmet types to develop in antiquity were the Corinthian helmet and the Roman galea.

During the Middle Ages, many different military helmets and some ceremonial helmets were developed, almost all being metal. Some of the more important medieval developments included the great helm, the bascinet, the frog-mouth helm, and the armet.

The great seal of Owain Glyndŵr (c. 1359 – c. 1415) depicts the prince of Wales & his stallion wearing full armour, they both wear protective headgear with Owain’s gold dragon mounted on top. This would have been impractical in battle, so therefore these would have been ceremonial.

In the 19th century, more materials were incorporated, namely leather, felt and pith. The pith helmet and the leather pickelhaube were important 19th century developments. The greatest expansion in the variety of forms and composition of helmets, however, took place in the 20th century, with the development of highly specialized helmets for a multitude of athletic and professional applications, as well as the advent of modern plastics. During World War I, the French army developed the Adrian helmet, the British developed the Brodie helmet, and the Germans produced the Stahlhelm.

Flight helmets were also developed throughout the 20th century. A multitude of athletic helmets, including football helmets, batting helmets, cricket helmets, bicycle helmets, motorcycle helmets and racing helmets, were also developed in the 20th century.

Helmets since the mid-20th century have often incorporated lightweight plastics and other synthetic materials, and their use has become highly specialized. Some important recent developments include the French SPECTRA helmet, Spanish MARTE helmet or the American PASGT (commonly called “Kevlar” by U.S. troops) and Advanced Combat Helmet, or ACH.

Eye protection

Eye protection is protective gear for the eyes, and sometimes face, designed to reduce the risk of injury. Examples of risks requiring eye protection can include: impact from particles or debris, light or radiation, wind blast, heat, sea spray or impact from some type of ball or puck used in sports.

Eye protection are typically separated into categories based on the style of eye wear and the hazard they are designed to reduce. There categories include: Spectacles with side protection; Goggles; Welding helmet; Welding Hand Shields; Non-Rigid Helmets (hoods); Face shield; and Respirator Face pieces.

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Spectacles

Safety glasses or spectacles, although often used as a catch-all term for all types of eye protection, specifically revers to protective equipment that closely resembles common eye wear. To meet most national standards, spectacles must include side shields to reduce the ability of debris to get behind the lenses from the side. Safety glasses can often mount insert frames to mount prescription corrective lenses for users with suboptimal vision. Such insert frames are mounted behind the protective lens. In some applications, regular eye wear, if manufactured from high-impact materials, can be worn with removable side shields. Oversized spectacles are also manufactured, designed to sit over the users normal eye wear.

Goggles

Goggles are forms of protective eyewear that enclose the eye area in order to prevent particulates, infectious fluids, or chemicals from striking the eyes. Goggles come in two styles, eyecup goggles, and cover goggles. Eyecup goggles completely cover the eye socket to give all-round protection. They have adjustable or elasticized headbands and often are equipped with ventilation ports to allow air in and prevent fogging. For example, swimming goggles to protect the eyes from salt or chlorine. Cover goggles are designed to be worn over eye wear. Like eyecup goggles, they have adjustable or elasticized headbands and are equipped with direct or indirect ventilation ports to allow air in and prevent fogging. While both models keep out large particles, indirect-vented goggles are better at keeping out liquids and dusts.

Welding helmets and shields

A welding helmet is a type of headgear used when performing certain types of welding to protect the eyes, face and neck from flash burn, ultraviolet light, sparks, infrared light, and heat. A welding hand shield is a metal plate containing the same protective lens as a welding helmet with a handle on the bottom, intended to be held up in front of the face while working.

Hoods

Hoods (or non-rigid helmets) come with impact-resistant windows usually made of plastic or similar material. An air-supply system may also be incorporated. Hoods are made of non-rigid material for use in confined spaces and of collapsible construction for convenience in carrying and storing

Face shields

A face shield is a device used to protect wearer’s entire face (or part of it) from hazards such as impact, splash, heat, or glare. With face shields, as with welding helmets and hand shields, the user is continually lifting and lowering the visor. To protect the eyes when the visor is lifted, spectacles should be worn underneath.

Respirator face pieces

A respirator is a device designed to protect the wearer from inhaling particulate matter, including airborne microorganisms, fumes, vapours and gases.

Use screen filters

Using special screen filters to the front of your device can reduce the amount of digital blue light emitted from your device. Now it is available on the market like – mobile screen protector, computer screen protector for reducing blue rays from electronic devices.

Protection Categories

Flying objects

Flying particles, dust, and wind

Heat, sparks, and splash from molten materials

Acid splash; chemical burns

A large percentage of eye injuries are caused by direct contact with chemicals. These injuries often result from an inappropriate choice of personal protective equipment that allows a chemical substance to enter from around or under protective eye equipment. Serious and irreversible damage can occur when chemical substances contact the eyes in the form of splash, mists, vapors, or fumes. When working with or around chemicals, it is important to know the location of emergency eyewash stations and how to access them with restricted vision.

When fitted and worn correctly, goggles protect your eyes from hazardous substances. A face shield may be required in areas where workers are exposed to severe chemical hazards.

Personal protective equipment devices for chemical hazards:

• Safety Goggles: Primary protectors intended to shield the eyes against liquid or chemical splash, irritating mists, vapors, and fumes.
• Face Shields: Secondary protectors intended to protect the entire face against exposure to chemical hazards.^[2]

Abrasive blasting materials

Glare or stray light

The human eye is sensitive to intense light because it damages the retina and can even blind the individual. There are many different types of eye protection against light suited for different applications. The most common forms of eye protection against light are sunglasses. These primarily protect against UV light from the sun and help increase visibility in bright conditions. They often tend to be fashionable as well as practical.

Injurious optical radiation (Moderate)

Laser protection eyewear will filter out a particular (or small range of) wavelength(s), customized to the laser being viewed. Laser protection eye wear is particularly important because of the extremely high intensity of laser light.

Injurious optical radiation (Severe)

Welding glass protects against glare and flying sparks. It is a more extreme implementation of the same idea as sunglasses, suited to the more intense light generated during welding. Arc welding goggles must be much darker than blowtorch goggles. Shades 12, 13, and 14 welding glass must be used to stare directly at the sun or a solar eclipse. These higher index shades are suitable for arc welding and therefore are suitable for solar viewing. Sunglasses will not provide sufficient protection

Other protection

• Eye protectors used in sports like orienteering and cycling to protect eyes from insects, dust and wind blast.
• Infection control glasses
• Eye shields used in External beam radiotherapy to shield sensitive parts of the eye from ionizing radiation

Hearing protection

• Earplug
• Earmuffs
• Earpads/earflaps

Other head/neck protection

• Throat guard
• Headguard (Head guard)
• Boxing headgear
• Mouthguard
• Armored/insulated hood
• Association football headgear

Arm/shoulder protection

• Shoulder pads
• Forearm guard
• Fist guard
• Knuckle guard
• Wrist guard
• Elbow guard
• Elbow pad
• Hand/Wrist Wraps

Hand protection

• Gloves are available to protect against:
  • Chemicals, contamination and infection (e.g. disposable latex/vinyl/nitrile gloves)
  • Electricity, when voltage is too high
  • Extremes of temperature (e.g. oven gloves, welder’s gloves)
  • Mechanical hazards (e.g. rigger gloves, chainmail gloves)
  • Mechanic gloves prime concern is to protect hands against mechanical type of applications, where harsh elements of mechanical work is directly detecting your hands required to be secured against the highest or lowest levels of risks depending upon the working environment which is normally measured in terms of different rating standards specifying the class of gloves.
  • Lacerations and other wounds from sharp objects
• Baseball glove
• Belay gloves
• Cycling gloves
• Falconry gloves
• Gymnastics grips
• Hand guards
• Hand/wrist wraps
• Hockey glove
• Wicket-keeper’s gloves

Body protection

• Athletic supporter with cup pocket and protective cup, also called Abdomen guard or cricket box
• Chestguard (Chest guard, Hogu)
• Rib guard

Foot/Leg/hip protection

• Foot guard
• Hip pads (Hip pad)
• Knee pads
• Instep guard/instep protector
• Shin guard (shin guards)
• Combined knee-shin guards
• Padded shorts
• Bouldering mat
• Chaps are individual pant leggings made of leather and worn by farriers, cowboys, and rodeo contestants to protect the legs from contact with hooves, thorny undergrowth, and other such work hazards. May also be made of other materials for leg protection against other hazards, such as “rain chaps” of waterproof materials, or “saw chaps” of Kevlar for chainsaw workers.
• Safety footwear & Protective footwear is footwear that comes with a protective toe cap.

Full protective garments

Protective suit is an umbrella term for any suit or clothing which protects the wearer. Any specific design of suit may offer protection against biological and chemical agents, particle radiation (alpha) and/or radiation (delta and gamma), and may offer flash protection in the case of bomb disposal suits. Most forms of industrial clothing are protective clothing. Personal protective equipment includes:

Complete suits

The word “chemsuit” is sometimes used to mean a real chemical-protection suit, as well as fictional.

• Boilersuit
• NBC suit
• Hazmat suit
• Bombsuits
• Fire proximity suit
• Riding suits (abrasion-proof: made of leather, kevlar, ballistic nylon, cordura, etc., and waterproof)
• Spacesuit
• Splash suit, to protect against splashing chemicals
• Wetsuit and Drysuit
• Immersion suit

Flexibility and mobility

Blunt trauma PPE generally involves a balance between protection and function; some compromises can be made in the protection in order to permit sufficient function for the wearer. The equipment offer users a range of motion (flexibility), and ease-of-motion (mobility), while maintaining the necessary impact protection and coverage areas. Experts in human factors and ergonomics help deliver systems that do not impede or fatigue users while they are wearing PPE equipment, resulting in a comfortable and functional suit. Users will have much greater comfort (and thus less distraction and irritation) and their functionality and ability to perform necessary roles, tasks and actions, will not be impeded. Usage of personal protective equipment

Cooling and heat stress reduction

During emergency response operations, law enforcement and corrections officers are vulnerable to heat strokes or hyperthermia. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the United States publishes a heat stress “Quick Card”, that contains a checklist designed to help prevent heat stress. To protect users from heat stress, blunt trauma PPE can allow air flows underneath the suit to maximize the body’s natural cooling process of perspiration. With good air ventilation, the suit will help cool the user and reduce excess body heat which can contribute to heat stress.

Other garments

• Apron (protects the body and other clothing from dirt) (also used as distinction by waiters)
• Nappy (“diaper” in American English)
• Motorcycle armor
• Protective vest
• Safety harness
• Sun protective clothing

References