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ANSI Standards for Safety Shoes

In 1994, the American National Standards Institute created a set of industry standards overseeing the requirements for safety footwear. These standards were known as ANSI Z41 PT 99 until new standards were created by the American Society for Testing and Materials. The new standard is called ASTM F2413-05 and covers all protective footwear, including static electricity dissipative (SED), conductive (Cd), Electrical Hazard (EH) and sole puncture resistant (SPR) footwear. Other, less common types of protective footwear are chain saw cut resistant (CS) and bioelectric insulation (DI).

The ASTM F2413-05 standard lists the minimum requirements for the design, performance, testing and classification of protective footwear.

  1. Steel Toe

    • Steel toe boots are required to be worn in any work location where an employee may be exposed to injury as a result of a falling or rolling object. The requirements for steel toe boots are laid out in sections I/75 and C/75 of ASTM F2413-05.

    Static Dissipative

    • Static dissipative protective footwear is designed to dissipate any build-up of static electricity in an individual’s body. SD shoes are used in computer, solvent-based paint and plastics manufacturing. These SD shoes are designed according to sections I/75 (SD) and C-75 (SD) of the ASTM F2413-05.

    Conductive

    • Conductive shoes protect against static electrical build-up, as opposed to SD shoes, which regulate electrical build-up. Conductive shoes are designed to be used in environments where there is a large accumulation of static electricity such as computer processor plants, explosives factories, etc.

    Electrical Hazard

    • Electrical hazard protective footwear is designed for employees who work around heavy-duty electrical equipment, live wires and circuits and energized conductors. The soles in EH shoes include soles and heels that dispel electricity in case of electrical shortage or shock.

    Puncture Resistant

    • Puncture resistant protective footwear includes a thin steel plate built into the mid-sole of the shoe to deflect any objects that might pierce the sole of the shoe. These shoes are primarily used in the construction industry, landfills, scrap metal shops and any other place where a sharp object may pierce the shoe.

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