Health and Safety - Protect and survive05 April 2005

If people are a business's greatest asset, then ensuring their safety not only saves injuries and lives, it also makes sound economic sense. Across the whole spectrum of industry, the consequences of not providing safety equipment have often been serious and occasionally fatal injuries.

The Health & Safety at Work Act in 1974 was a key milestone, but even better protection from accident or injury was provided through the enactment of the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations in 1992. This offered a more structured and co-ordinated approach, and established minimum requirements for the assessment, selection and correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

A further change in 1995 made it mandatory to have safety equipment CE marked, indicating that it meets basic safety requirements and in many cases has to be tested and certified. Today, a draft of further amendments to PPE regulation is under discussion - Personal Protective Equipment Regulations [2001].

It would be impractical to list all of the standards that cover the selection and use of PPE, which total over 140 in 14 categories, but they include:
- General PPE Standards (EN 348)
- Clothing [Protective] Standards (EN 340, EN 373, etc)
- Ergonomic Standards for PPE (EN 13921 series)
- Eyewear [Protective] and Face Protection Standards (EN 165,EN 166, EN 153-1, EN 168, EN 169, etc)
- Fall Arrest Standards (EN 341, EN 355, EN 363, EN 813, etc)
- Floatation Devices Standards (EN ISO 12402-4, EN ISO 12402-9)
- Footwear [Protective] Standards (EN 344, EN 345-2, EN 347/A1, etc)
- Gloves [Protective] Standards (EN 374-1, EN 420, EN 60903/A11, etc)
- Head Protection Standards (EN 397, EN 966, EN 1384, etc)
- Hearing Protection Standards (EN 352-1, EN 24869-1, etc)
- Heat and Flame Protection Standards (EN 366, EN 3670)
- Life Jackets [Protective] Standards (EN 393, EN 396, etc)
- Liquid Chemical Protection Standards (EN 368, EN 369)
- Respiratory Protection Standards (EN 132, EN 137, EN 142, EN 146, EN 149, etc).

These standards do not just identify the types of activity and work, where protective equipment is required, but specify testing and marking. In the UK, the PPE regulations do not just identify the types of activity where safety equipment is required, but also offer guidance on training and maintenance.

Current UK and European legislation requires that risk assessments are undertaken and that suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) is worn.

It identifies six principal areas of the body where a range of hazards, and different types of injury, can occur:
- Eyes
- Head and neck
- Breathing
- Overall body protection
- Hands and arms
- Feet and legs.

Protection of the head, limbs and body have seen widespread adoption of products made of materials such as Nomex, Kevlar and Tyvek from DuPont, where the protection is inherently available from the fibres that form the fabric itself. Kevlar was developed by DuPont in the mid 1960s, from long chain polymer fibres that provide great strength, with low weight, electrical conductivity and shrinkage in a manufactured material. This material has found its way into numerous protective garments, and continues to be widely employed where toughness, stability and resistance to flames, chemical attack or cuts are needed.

Protective gloves are widely used across industry, and the chosen product needs to prevent injury from hazards identified by routine risk assessments and safety audits. Among others, they must meet the EN 420 standard - identifying fitness for purpose, sizing, comfort and efficiency. More specific criteria are covered by EN 374 (resistance to penetration by micro-organisms) and EN 388 (mechanical hazards). Protective clothing follows similar regulations, with comfort, function and ease of use all provided by the introduction of new materials, and even technology into the fabric. Products such as DuPont's Nomex consist of fibres that can be knitted and woven into material that provides thermal protection, and indeed will not melt or burn until temperatures beyond 370°C are exceeded.

Where high visibility of personnel is essential, 3M Scotchlite reflective material in manufactured clothing is widely used in a range of reflective tapes that can be incorporated into the clothing itself. The material was originally developed more than 60 years ago as an aid to night driving, but has developed significantly from many years of experience and research into both glass bead and microprismatic technology. The material is used today across the widest range of protective clothing and high-visibility apparel; it uses microscopic glass lens technology, and conforms to the specific requirements of EN471.

The provision of visors, face masks, goggles, filters and breathing apparatus needs to protect the person against harmful dusts, gas, mists and vapours, each of which has different characteristics. When more stringent standards are introduced, suppliers will often have to modify the product. With modern maintenance-free particulate respirators, for instance, to meet the more demanding requirements of EN149: 2001, either the addition of more filter material, or the use of a new material, is required. 3M opted for the latter: its new Advanced Electret media allows an increased filter performance in a thinner material and combines the benefits of mechanical and electrostatic filters. Combined with a valve in the face mask, it minimises the build-up of heat and moisture within the face piece while providing the new level of required protection.

The starting point for choosing PPE is a riskassessment for the workplace activity and the company's health and safety policy - mandatory for anyone employing five or more staff. The regulations themselves state that the PPE should provide adequate protection and be properly maintained, and adequate training should be given. They also refer to suitability of materials, such as coveralls made from loosely woven long nylon fibres, and the advice to inspect regularly and replace hard hats at regular intervals, say two to three years.

PPE manufacturers and suppliers can also provide advice and help facilities, including telephone support for health and safety matters. This can relate not just to the benefits of their own product ranges, but to the operational, legislative and technical requirements of PPE as well.

Selection of the right mask, glove, or protective clothing is clearly dependent on the hazard encountered, and the work undertaken. For example, particulate filters are used to provide the physical barrier against dusts, mists and fume generated in many workspaces. With welding operations, a half-mask respirator is normally chosen to protect against fumes. Activities such as spraying paint could demand a filtering half-mask, a full-face mask or an air-fed respirator, dependent on the toxicity of the paint being used. Some suppliers of masks and respirators, including 3M, offer 'fit test kits', enabling the employer to test the fit for each employee who will use respirator equipment.

In chemical and many other plants, personal escape sets can be found on plant walls, while people working in utilities, particularly during confined space working, will carry an escape set throughout the duration of their shift as a matter of course. Particulate respirators filter the contaminated air through specially treated charcoal, which absorbs the contaminant, and are frequently supplied with an exhalation valve to provide cooler breathing in hot or humid environments.

Materials used in PPE have changed, and continue to evolve, as a result of changes in the technology of the material used in their construction, working practices, improved manufacturing processes, or operational influences.

Among developments from Draeger are a range of masks and filters - including powered air-purifying respirators, and respirators that use a plant-supplied air system, and which can be combined with helmets, hoods and visors, and full face masks. The X-plore 7300 and 7500 powered respirators first purify the ambient air through a filter, before making it available to the wearer, using an electronically controlled blower to provide constant air flow, without any breathing resistance.

Alarming the wearer

Some of the more innovative developments in breathing apparatus include the provision of integral alarms, multifunctional operating panels, with the ability to monitor filter and battery status at the touch of a button, and rechargeable batteries. Audible and visual alarms warn the user of hazardous situations including low battery capacity, increased breathing resistance, a decrease in airflow or if the filter life is exhausted.

Research continues into 'smart' materials, including those that are classed as self-repairing, such as the recombination of polycarbonate chains. While this area is in its infancy, clearly it would have major benefits for PPE, which could be both tough and durable, be resistant to damage and puncture, or even repair itself after a period of storage. In a similar manner, electrospinning of nanofibres is being developed to provide improved protection in the fibrous layers of multifunctional materials, and offers the capability of filtering, trapping and preventing particles from passing through the material. These materials are 'breathable', and PPE made with electrospun membranes potentially presents a good barrier to penetration from airborne particles. Manufacturing techniques are being developed that could enable the wider use of these materials.

The range of tougher, lighter and even intelligent materials is continuing to expand, as suppliers invest in their and our futures. Perhaps PPE will eventually become indistinguishable from everyday clothing.

Gloves cut incident rate at steel tube plant

Tyco European Tubes was determined to reduce the accident rate and subsequent claims for hand injuries at its Oldbury site. In 2002-03, hand injuries accounted for 66% of the total injuries on site, with 51% of these injuries resulting in damage to fingers, some of which were severe.

To improve the safety of the 220 production workers at the 17-acre site, the manufacturer of precision-welded and manipulated tubes called in UK glove manufacturer BM Polyco to assess the requirements for all tasks carried out at the plant. BM Polyco, a DuPont Personal Protection partner, suggested that Tyco should trial its range of gloves containing Kevlar fibre. The trials proved very successful and resulted in the selection of:

- Heavy-duty Kevlar gloves (Volcano), offering excellent cut protection with the ability to withstand temperatures up to 3800°C
- Chrome leather gloves with a Kevlar liner, (Granite 5), offering good cut protection from metal strip and fin wire
- Kevlar gloves with palm-coated nitrile (GPKV2R, offering good cut protection for use in semi-dry conditions
- Kevlar gloves with fully coated nitrile, providing good cut protection for use in wet conditions and for general use.

All shifts throughout the plant are given full training on the importance of wearing the right level of protection for specific risks. Safety training procedures and the use of the new Kevlar gloves has reduced the overall percentage of injuries involving cuts at the Oldbury plant by 28%.

Tunnel workers breathe sigh of relief

Tunnel rescue operations require the most stringent safety precautions. To ensure the safety of its personnel during the construction of the Dublin Port Tunnel, the Nishimatsu Construction Company commissioned Respro to install a complete rescue room. Respro specified seven Draeger BG4 closed-circuit breathing apparatus sets as well as Draeger resuscitators, dryers, compressors and other equipment.

Malcolm Holden, Nishimatsu rescue training manager, comments: "The status of the breathing apparatus is constantly provided via an LCD readout which is easily accessible to the wearer. Inhalation and exhalation hoses are worn over each shoulder, which allows the head to be turned in either direction without incurring discomfort or limited visibility. A fullface mask with speech diaphragm allows unimpaired communication with other members of the rescue team and facilitates the use of external communications equipment."

The tunnel is 10.4 km long, so the Draeger BG4 'rebreather', which removes CO2 from the exhaled air and enriches it with oxygen, was the preferred choice of equipment. Conventional compressed air breathing apparatus, even with a twin-cylinder configuration, will only provide 40-60 minutes' duration.

SOE

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