Common Misconceptions in the Selection and Use of Safety Protective Equipment
Service Life of Commonly Used Special Protective Equipment
1. Service Life of Safety Belts
Safety belts should be randomly inspected after two years of use, based on the batch purchase situation. If they pass the inspection, the batch of safety belts can continue to be used. For sample belts that have been inspected, the safety rope must be replaced before continued use. Ropes used frequently should be visually inspected regularly, and if any abnormalities are found, they should be replaced with new ropes immediately. The service life of belts is 3 to 5 years.
2. Precautions for Antistatic Shoes and Antistatic Work Clothes
(1) GB 12014-89 "Antistatic Work Clothes" stipulates that antistatic clothing must be worn in conjunction with antistatic shoes as specified in GB 4385.
(2) Due to repeated washing, the antistatic performance of antistatic work clothes will decrease. Therefore, the service life set by enterprises with high ambient temperatures, high labor intensity, and frequent washing should be appropriately shorter. (3) During the use of antistatic shoes, a resistance test should generally be conducted once every 200 hours. If the resistance fails, the shoes should not be used further.
3. Precautions for the service life of electrically insulating shoes and gloves
Electrically insulating shoes include four main categories: electrically insulating leather shoes, cloth-upper rubber shoes, rubber-upper rubber shoes, and plastic shoes. Each unit can reasonably determine the service life based on labor intensity and working environment. However, the following points should be noted: First, for storage, if more than 18 months have passed since the date of manufacture, each shoe must undergo a preventative electrical performance test; second, any shoes with corroded or damaged uppers or soles should not be used as electrically insulating shoes; third, an electrical performance test should be conducted at least once every 6 months during use, and if the resistance fails, the shoes should not be used further. The service life of insulating gloves can be stipulated by each unit based on the frequency of use, but a self-test by blowing air must be performed before each use, and an electrical performance test must be conducted at least once every six months. If the resistance fails, the gloves should not be used further.
4. Precautions for the use of hearing protectors
Hearing protectors include noise-canceling earplugs, noise-canceling earmuffs, and noise-canceling helmets. Generally, noise-canceling helmets offer the best noise reduction, blocking air-conducted noise and reducing bone-conducted noise damage to the ear. They are suitable for high-noise environments. Earmuffs offer the next best noise reduction, while earplugs provide the worst, with a sound attenuation of only 10-20 dB in the 1000-2000 Hz frequency range.
2. Personal protective equipment (PPE) should be scrapped if it meets any of the following conditions:
(1) It does not meet national, industry, or local standards.
(2) It fails to meet the functional indicators stipulated by the superior labor safety supervision agency.
(3) It is damaged during use or storage and fails to meet the original minimum effective protective function indicators upon inspection.
VI. Standards for the Allocation of Personal Protective Equipment
Personnel engaged in multiple jobs or working in multiple working environments should be equipped with PPE according to their primary job and working environment. If the provided PPE is unsuitable for other jobs or working environments, other necessary PPE should be provided or borrowed. The main requirements are as follows:
1. Dust masks should be provided to workers in certain occupations. Gauze masks must not be used as dust masks.
2. The distribution of protective gear should be based on the types of toxic substances workers may be exposed to. Appropriate filter canisters (boxes) should be accurately selected. Before each use, their effectiveness should be carefully checked, and filter canisters (boxes) should be replaced regularly according to national standards.
3. Gloves made of canvas, gauze, fleece, leather, rubber, plastic, latex, etc., are collectively referred to as "labor protection gloves." Employers should provide gloves with different protective performance and materials according to the actual needs of workers to prevent injuries from cuts, abrasions, burns, scalds, freezing, electric shocks, static electricity, corrosion, and immersion during work.
4. "Hearing protectors" is a general term for earplugs, earmuffs, and noise-canceling helmets. Employers may provide these to workers based on the intensity and frequency of noise in the workplace.
5. In addition to timely replacement, insulating gloves and shoes should have their insulation performance checked before each use and retested every six months.
6. For jobs where the eyes may be injured by flying debris such as iron filings, ordinary glass is easily broken upon impact, which can cause indirect eye injury. Impact-resistant goggles must be worn.
7. Production management, scheduling, security, safety inspection, and personnel such as interns and visitors should be equipped with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) according to the production areas they frequently enter.
8. In workplaces where toxic or harmful gases may leak in the event of damaged or malfunctioning production equipment, in addition to providing workers with standard PPE, necessary protective gear should be placed in a prominent location for immediate use in case of escape or rescue. The employer should also have designated personnel and specific measures to ensure it is in good working order.
9. Safety nets must be erected in accordance with regulations at high-altitude work sites such as construction, bridges, ships, and industrial installations. Workers should select and wear appropriate types of safety belts according to different working conditions.
10. Considering that a job may have different working environments, actual working hours, and labor intensity in different enterprises, as well as differences in climate and economic conditions in various provinces and cities, the types of personal protective equipment (PPE) required for each job are minimum standards. Specific regulations on the service life of PPE are not made. Provincial-level comprehensive safety management departments should, when formulating provincial standards, issue additional necessary PPE based on actual conditions and specify the service life.
VII. Classification of Personal Protective Equipment by Protective Part
(1) Safety Helmets. These are protective gear used to protect the head from impact and crush injuries. They mainly include plastic, rubber, glass, adhesive tape, cold-proof, and bamboo/rattan safety helmets.
(2) Respiratory Protective Equipment. These are important protective equipment for preventing pneumoconiosis and occupational diseases. They are divided into three categories according to their use: dust protection, poison protection, and oxygen supply; and into two categories according to their working principle: filtering and isolating. (3) Eye Protection. Used to protect the eyes and face of workers from external injuries. Divided into welding eye protection, furnace and kiln eye protection, impact-resistant eye protection, microwave protection, laser protection glasses, and eye protection against X-rays, chemicals, and dust.
(4) Hearing Protection. Hearing protection should be used when working in environments with sustained levels above 90 dB(A) or short-term levels above 115 dB(A). Hearing protection includes earplugs, earmuffs, and helmets.
(5) Protective Footwear. Used to protect the feet from injury. Currently, the main products include impact-resistant, insulating, anti-static, acid and alkali-resistant, oil-resistant, and non-slip shoes.
(6) Protective Gloves. Used for hand protection, mainly including acid and alkali-resistant gloves, electrical insulating gloves, welding gloves, X-ray-resistant gloves, and asbestos gloves.
(7) Protective Clothing. Used to protect workers from physical and chemical factors in the working environment. Protective clothing is divided into two categories: special protective clothing and general work clothes.
(8) Fall protection equipment. Used to prevent falls. Mainly includes safety belts, safety ropes, and safety nets.