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Safety Tips on Personal Protective Equipment

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), engineering and administrative controls are the best ways to limit workers' exposure to safety risks. When those risks can't be reduced to acceptable levels, employers have to determine the point where personal protective equipment (PPE) will be used. Individuals working on their own doing home maintenance or remodeling also need to consider what type of PPE to use and when to use it.

  1. Head Protection

    • Hard hats can prevent serious head injuries.

      A common form of head protection used as a personal protective device is the hard hat. OSHA calls for employees to wear hard hats whenever they could receive head injuries "from impact, falling or flying objects, or from electrical shock and burns." The hard hat uses a suspension system to absorb impact from items that strike it. Its rounded shape encourages the force of the blow to roll off. People wearing hard hats should never do something that would interfere with the suspension mechanism, like placing items between them and the hard-hat shell.

    Hearing Protection

    • Hearing protection is called for when permissible noise levels are exceeded over a specified time. OSHA lists the permissible noise exposures in Table 2-2 of its Hearing Conservation Program for Construction Workers document. For example, exposure to 115 dBA is acceptable for 15 minutes or less; exposure to 90 dBA is acceptable for up to eight hours. dBA is measured on the "A" scale of a sound-level meter when it's on slow response. When the noise levels exceed permissible levels, and administrative or engineering controls can't reduce them to acceptable levels, then personal hearing protection is likely required. Plain cotton doesn't qualify as hearing protection, and earplugs are supposed to be "fitted by competent persons," meaning the person using them must have been trained on their use.

    Eye and Face Protection

    • Personal protective equipment for the eyes and face are generally required wherever machines or operations could cause eye or face injury. The American National Standards Institute's Z87.1-1968 document outlines the requirements these kinds of personal protective equipment must meet. Common eyeglasses are not considered to be adequate eye protection unless they're also protective lenses. Goggles worn over the tops of eyeglasses offer alternative eye protection for common prescription eyeglasses.

    Respiratory Protection

    • You should first prevent dust, fog, mist, fumes, gases, smoke, sprays and vapors from contaminating the air before resorting to personal protective equipment. When that can't be achieved, then the person should wear a respirator that's approved for use in the hazardous conditions he's exposed to. Dust masks offer marginal protection, and when used over facial hair, they're even less effective. People who are using respiratory protection gear need to be trained in proper fitting techniques.

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