PROTECTIVE CLOTHING AND WORKWEAR IN SAFE HANDS Paul Skade, Category Manager for the Tools, Safety & Maintenance Product
Business Unit at ERIKS UK & Ireland, demystifies the new PPE gloves regulations and explains their role in simplifying the specification process.
In April 2018, the PPE Directive 89/686/EEC was replaced with Regulation (EU) 2016/425. The updated regulation includes a number of important changes that reflect the latest technology and materials used in glove design and manufacture, which will help to mitigate the risks of working in certain environments.
The 21 April 2018 marked the beginning of the transition period from the old directive to the new regulation, but ‘economic operators’ (manufacturers, distributors and importers of PPE) will have until 21 April 2019 to ensure all new products are compliant. As of 21 April 2023, all certificates based on the 89/686/ EEC Directive will become invalid.
A considerable number of changes have been made, including increasing the scope of the regulations and categorising PPE according to risk rather than complexity. With PPE gloves, however, there are a few important adjustments of which employers need to be aware. Although any changes to regulations can cause confusion, the updates will actually make it easier to identify and choose the right gloves for an application to ensure worker protection.
IMPROVED OFFERING It comes as no surprise that PPE gloves have improved dramatically in recent years, with technical fibres providing effective protection against a vast array of mechanical hazards, from abrasion to tearing. But with such a broad range of PPE gloves available, it can be difficult to ensure that the most appropriate hand protection is used for specific applications. The new regulation has been adapted in line with these improvements.
CUT RESISTANCE It isn’t uncommon for gloves to contain fibres that are so tough that they can blunt the circular blade used to test their material before the level of cut resistance can be correctly determined. As such, it is possible to recognise that the gloves are effective, but it is not possible to determine precisely how effective they are, making specification a risky process.
Regulation (EU) 2016/425 covers a new measure of cut resistance under EN388 (mechanical protection) whereby a maximum number of test cut cycles is specified. If a material is likely to blunt the test blade before 60 cycles are completed, or if the test gets to this stage without cutting the material, then an ISO Cut Resistance tomodynamometer (TDM) test must be used to measure the cut force needed, in Newtons.
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CHEMICAL TESTING While information regarding changes to cut protection standards and regulations has been readily available, changes to the chemical testing process have been less well publicised. Despite this, there are some important changes to the levels of protection and markings being used of which anyone specifying or buying this type of protective glove should be aware.
New markings for chemical gloves now clearly define protection levels, with ‘Type A’ gloves offering protection of 30 minutes minimum breakthrough time for at least six defined chemicals, and ‘Type B’ offering the same breakthrough time, but for only three defined chemicals. ‘Type C’ gloves, on the other hand, offer just 10 minutes of breakthrough time for a single chemical.
Those involved in PPE glove specification should also consult the new regulation to make themselves familiar with all updates relating to hand protection, particularly the changes relating to abrasion and impact testing.
The revised regulations will make it easier to avoid unsuitable PPE and clearly define responsibility across the supply chain. Therefore, industrial end-users shouldn’t feel overwhelmed by the changes to the PPE regulations: rather they should see them as an opportunity to prove that worker protection and compliance are high on their agenda, well before the 2019 deadline.
https://eriks.co.uk/
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