A Guide to Personal Protective Equipment

APPENDIX G (CONTINUED)

Quality standards

There are exhaustive standards which specify what the equipment is required to do and how the manufacturer can comply. Manufacturers can meet their legal duties by manufacturing either directly in accordance with basic health and safety requirements, or to specific standards.

EAR PROTECTION

- BS EN 352-1: Specification for ear muffs.
- BS EN 352-2: Specification for ear plugs.
- prEN 352-3: Specification for ear muffs attached to safety helmets.
- prEN 352-4: Specification for level-dependent ear muffs.
- BS EN 458: Selection, use, care & maintenance of hearing protectors.

RESPIRATORY

- BS EN 136: Full face masks.
- BS EN 137: Self-contained open-circuit compressed air.
- BS EN 138: Fresh air hose and mask/mouthpiece.
- BS EN 139: Compressed air line and mask/mouthpiece.
- BS EN 140: Half masks & quarter masks.
- BS EN 141: Gas filters & combined filters.
- BS EN 143: Particle filters.
- BS EN 145: Self-contained closed-circuit breathing.
- BS EN 146: Powered particle filtering devices
(inc hoods or helmets).
- BS EN 147: Powered particle filtering devices
(inc masks).
- BS EN 149: Filtering half-masks against particles.
- BS EN 270: Compressed air line and hood.
- BS EN 271: Compressed air line or powered air hose & hood (abrasive blasting).
- BS EN 371: AX gas filters (against low boiling organic compounds).
- BS EN 372: SX gas & combined filters
(against specific compounds).

HAND PROTECTION

- BS EN 374: Protective gloves against chemicals/ micro-organisms.
- prEN 381-7: Protective gloves for chainsaws.
- BS EN 388: Protective gloves against mechanical risks (abrasion, cutting, etc).
- BS EN 407: Protective gloves against thermal risk (heat and/or fire).
- BS EN 420: General requirements for gloves.
- BS EN 421: Protective gloves against ionising radiation/radioactive contamination.
- BS EN 511: Protective gloves against cold.
- BS EN 659: Protective gloves for firefighters.
- prEN 1082: Protective gloves against cuts by
hand knives.
- prEN 12477: Protective gloves for welders.