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Personal Protective Equipment

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Personal Protective Equipment iii

TABLE OF CONTENTSPersonal Protective Equipment........................................................................................................1

OSHA PPE rules................................................................................................................................1OSHA General Duty Clause............................................................................................................2Hazard assessment ...........................................................................................................................2Payment for PPE ...............................................................................................................................3

Best practice: 4 steps to effective worker protection ....................................................................4

Frequently Asked Questions............................................................................................................6

Personal Protective Equipment 1

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Grainger is North America'sleading broad line supplierof maintenance, repair and operating products.Grainger provides high-quality, dependableproducts you can trust tokeep employees and worksites safe.


Employers must provide personal protective equipment (PPE) andtraining to each employee who is or may be exposed to physical or

health hazards in the workplace when engineering and administrativecontrols cannot feasibly or effectively reduce exposures to safe levels.PPE is designed to protect your workers from serious workplaceinjuries or illnesses resulting from contact with chemical, radiological,physical, electrical, mechanical, or other workplace hazards. Besidesface shields, safety glasses, hard hats, and safety shoes, protectiveequipment includes a variety of devices and garments such asgoggles, coveralls, gloves, vests, earplugs, and respirators.

Hazard assessment. To determine if hazards are present, or arelikely to be present, that require the use of PPE, OSHA requires you toassess your workplace and the jobs employees perform. If hazards arepresent, or likely to be present, you must:

◆ Select, and have each affected employee use, the types of PPEthat will protect the affected employee from the hazardsidentified in the hazard assessment;

◆ Communicate selection decisions to each affected employee; and

◆ Select PPE that properly fits each affected employee.

The two basic objectives of any PPE program are to:

◆ Protect the wearer from workplace hazards.

◆ Prevent the wearer from being injured if there is a malfunctionof PPE or if he or she uses the equipment incorrectly.

OSHA PPE rulesGeneral industry. The most commonly applicable regulations arefound at:

29 CFR 1910.132 PPE: General Requirements

29 CFR 1910.133 Eye and face protection

29 CFR 1910.134 Respiratory protection

29 CFR 1910.135 Head protection

29 CFR 1910.136 Foot protection

29 CFR 1910.138 Hand protection

29 CFR 1910.95 Occupational Noise Exposure

29 CFR 1910.120(c) and (g) HAZWOPER

Personal ProtectiveEquipment


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Construction industry. The PPE requirements for the constructionindustry are located at Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment(29 CFR 1926.95 to 1926.107).

OSHA General Duty ClauseOSHA may also apply its General Duty Clause to PPE-related situa-tions. The General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the OccupationalSafety and Health Act (OSH Act), requires an employer to furnish toits employees “employment and a place of employment which arefree from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to causedeath or serious physical harm to employees ….”

Role of other federal agenciesNational Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).Though NIOSH does not have regulatory authority, OSHA ruleshave incorporated by reference several NIOSH standards for thedesign and use of respirators.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA regulates theuse of PPE for pesticide applications, emergency response to releasesor spills of hazardous substances, and for protection against expo-sure to significant new uses of hazardous substances.

United States Coast Guard (USCG). The USCG regulates PPErequirements for facilities and operations on the Outer ContinentalShelf (OCS).

National consensus standards. The American National StandardsInstitute (ANSI) has developed specifications for various types ofPPE (gloves, footwear, eyewear, and headwear) and for measuringtheir effectiveness and quality. The American Society for Testing andMaterials (ASTM) has developed specifications for electrical equip-ment and PPE. Though ANSI and the ASTM do not have regulatoryauthority, several of their industry consensus standards have beenincorporated into OSHA rules by reference.

Hazard assessmentEach employer must assess the workplace to determine if hazards arepresent, or are likely to be present, and necessitate the use of PPE.Every job in the workplace must be evaluated. The employer mustcertify in writing that the PPE hazard assessment has been per-formed. The written certification must identify:

◆ The workplace evaluated

◆ The date of the assessment


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◆ The person certifying that the evaluation has been performed

◆ The hazards found

◆ The PPE selected

Employers must determine what types of PPE are appropriate fortheir workers and ensure that workers know how to use PPE itemsproperly.

OSHA has supplied what it calls “nonmandatory” compliance guide-lines to aid employers in the hazard assessment and PPE selectionprocess (29 CFR 1910, Subpart I, Appendix B).

Payment for PPEEmployers must pay for most types of PPE when used by employeesexclusively in the workplace (i.e., not for personal use at home orother nonworkplace activities).

PPE replacement. Employers must pay to replace worn or damagedPPE as part of the employer’s obligation to ensure that the PPE is ingood condition. The employer is not required to pay for replacementwhen the employee has lost or intentionally damaged the PPE.

Employee-owned PPE. When an employee voluntarily purchasesand wears his or her own PPE and is allowed to use it at the work-place, the employer is not required to reimburse the employee forthat equipment. If employees are allowed to use their own PPE, how-ever, the employer is responsible for its adequacy, maintenance, andsanitation.

If an employee has provided his or her own PPE but the employer’shazard assessment determines that an upgrade to or replacement ofPPE is required, the employer must pay for the upgrade or replace-ment regardless of who paid for the original PPE.


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Best practice: 4 steps to effective worker protection

As an employer, you have two important safety goals to keep in mind:

1. Protect your employees as they perform their duties.

2. Comply with OSHA regulations that apply to your workplace.

These two goals must be considered for all phases of your opera-tions, but they are clearly paramount in the case of PPE. As the nameclearly states, the purpose of the regulation is employee protection,and OSHA spells out exactly how this protection must be achieved.

1. Hazard assessment. Section 1910.132(d)(1) of the OSHA stan-dard says that employers must “assess the workplace to deter-mine if hazards are present, or are likely to be present, whichnecessitate the use of personal protective equipment.”

Think head-to-toe protection and be sure to consider all the haz-ards—falling objects, chemical exposures, flying objects, sharpobjects, and rolling or pinching objects—as well as all the protec-tions—hard hats, safety glasses and goggles, respirators, gloves,safety shoes, and other clothing and equipment. The better youidentify and understand the impact of specific hazards, the betterable you will be to take the next step and select the most appro-priate PPE.

2. Equipment selection. Section 1910.132(d)(1) also says that ifsuch hazards are present—or are likely to be—you must:

◆ Select, and have affected employees use, the types of PPEthat will protect them from the hazards you have identified.

◆ Communicate selection decisions to employees.

◆ Select PPE that fits each affected employee properly.

Section 1910.132(h) states that PPE, with only a few exceptions,must be provided by the employer at no cost to the employee.The exceptions are as follows:

◆ Nonspecialty safety-toe protective footwear (includingsteel-toe shoes or steel-toe boots), provided the employerpermits such items to be worn off the jobsite

◆ Nonspecialty prescription safety eyewear, provided theemployer permits such items to be worn off the jobsite

◆ Shoes or boots with built-in metatarsal protection that theemployee chooses instead of metatarsal guards provided bythe employer

◆ Logging boots required by 29 CFR 1910.266(d)(1)(v)


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Hazard assessment and equipment selection—the first two steps—are actually the easy part. The hard part is encouraging employees toactually use the PPE. The next two steps—training and follow-up—present the challenge of reaching employees and communicatingyour important message.

3. Train employees. Section 1910.132(f)(1) requires you to trainemployees concerning each type of PPE before allowing them toperform any work requiring its use. At a minimum, your PPEtraining program must include the following information:

◆ When PPE is necessary;

◆ What PPE is necessary;

◆ How to properly don, doff, adjust, and wear PPE;

◆ Limitations of the PPE; and

◆ Proper care, maintenance, useful life, and disposal of thePPE.

The regulations [1910.132(f)(3)] also require you to retrainwhenever:

◆ Changes in the workplace render previous training obsolete;

◆ Changes in the types of PPE to be used render previoustraining obsolete; or

◆ Inadequacies in an employee’s knowledge or use ofassigned PPE indicate that the employee has not retainedthe requisite understanding or skill.

4. Follow up—Reinforce and enforce. You have to accept the factthat no matter what you do, a few employees will still forget touse their PPE, ignore the rules, think that PPE is for wimps, orbelieve that accidents happen to someone else. Daily monitoringis essential to see that employees are actually wearing their PPE.

Try these suggestions to motivate your employees and keep yourPPE program from going down the drain:

◆ Use a behavioral approach. As you walk around the depart-ment every day, give employees positive feedback for usingPPE.

◆ Make it easy to get and exchange PPE. If it’s a hassle foremployees to get PPE or exchange damaged or worn arti-cles for new ones, they probably won’t bother and will optfor just not using it.

◆ Recognize and reward employees for using PPE. At safetymeetings, praise employees for using PPE.


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◆ Recognize proper use of PPE in performance appraisals. Besure that employees realize that this will be part of theirevaluations.

◆ Enforce PPE policies. Use discipline, if necessary, as a lastresort to show employees you are serious about their wear-ing assigned PPE.

Like any other program, your PPE program should be reviewed peri-odically to make sure it still meets your company’s needs and OSHArequirements. Following the four essential steps, however, shouldalso give you confidence that you are complying with OSHA regula-tions and are doing all that is possible to keep your employees safe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. I wear prescription lenses; what are my safety eyewear options?

A. Workers who wear prescription lenses must wear a pair of safetyglasses that incorporate the prescription in its design, or wear safetyglasses that can be worn over prescription lenses without disturbingthe proper position of either.

Q. How should I maintain my protective eyewear?

A. Safety eyewear must be maintained properly in order to provide youwith maximum protection. Protective eyewear should be cleanedaccording to the manufacturer's instructions. If no instructions areavailable, clean or soak the eyewear with mild soap and warm water(120°F). Rinse thoroughly and allow to air dry.

Q. What size respirator should I order: small, medium, or large?

A. Even though approximately 80 percent of people wear a medium-sized respirator, the only way to determine the correct size mask isto perform a fit test. When performing a fit test, start with a mediummask. If during the fit test it is determined that the mask does not fitproperly, proceed testing with the next possible appropriate size forthe person being tested.

Q. How do I go about selecting the proper cartridge for my application?

A. Cartridges do have limitations. A chemical cartridge contains activated charcoal. The charcoal is activated based on the contaminant it is designed to absorb. To determine the proper cartridge for air-purifying respirators, either contact a safety professional or consult the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) of the substancethat needs to be filtered. All cartridges are assigned a color desig-nating the type of contaminant they will filter.


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Q. Can I wear my hard hat backward?

A. In January 2009, ANSI updated the Z89.1 standard to include threenon-mandatory tests that hard hat manufacturers can use to evaluatetheir product. One of these tests is the Reverse Donning test. Helmetsmarked with a "reverse donning arrow" can be worn frontward orbackward in accordance with the manufacturer's wearing instruc-tions. Hard hats marked with this "arrow" pass all testing require-ments, whether worn frontward or backward.

Q. What is a Noise Reduction Rating (NRR)?

A. The Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) is defined as the maximumnumber of decibels (dB) the sound level will be reduced when thehearing protector is worn.

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