Page 5 - Chemical Protective Footwear

EN 13832 FOOTWEAR PROTECTING AGAINST CHEMICALS
- This is the European safety standard for chemical protective footwear and is divided into three parts. Part 1 deals with terminology and test methods, Part 2 with requirements for limited contact with chemicals and Part 3 with requirements for prolonged contact with chemicals. The standard is intended for use in conjunction with EN ISO 20345 (Safety footwear standard), EN ISO 20346 and EN ISO 20347 (Occupational footwear standard)
For certification to EN 13832 Part 3, boots are tested for chemical degradation over a period of 23 hours against a minimum of three chemicals from a list of 15 designated challenge chemicals contained in Part 1 of the standard (the designated letters are
the same as for the EN 374 glove standard), after which they must pass a series of mechanical tests. Permeation tests are then performed for the selected chemicals and normalised breakthrough must be greater than 121 minutes.
Footwear approved to EN 138832 Part2 is only intended for limited contact with chemicals and is not recommended for people working with, or in proximity to, dangerous or aggressive chemicals.
Just because a boot is approved to EN13832 does not mean that it is necessarily safe to use with every chemical. Respirex test boots against a broad range of chemicals in addition to those required to pass EN13832 and you should use this permeation data to check suitability against your particular chemical (or mix of chemicals), in the same way that you would check gloves or protective clothing.
PART OF A PPE SOLUTION
Boots are part of an overall PPE solution for the wearer that can incorporate respiratory protection, hand and body protection and head, face and eye protection. The relevant standards are:
EN 943: GAS-TIGHT SUITS
Type 1 Suits provide protection from gaseous chemicals (as well as solid & liquid chemicals) and are worn with self contained breathing apparatus or supplied with breathing air by an air-line for the highest degree of respiratory protection. These will generally include sock feet or boots that are attached to the suit and gloves either permanently attached or attached via a locking ring arrangement.
EN 943: NON GAS-TIGHT SUITS
Type 2 Suits are similar in construction to Type 1 suits but are not fully gas-tight. Instead they use breathable air to provide positive pressure in the suit to prevent ingress of dusts, liquids and vapours.
ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF CHEMICAL PROTECTIVE FOOTWEAR
EN 14605 LIQUID AND SPRAY TIGHT SUITS
Type 3 Liquid tight suits provide protection from liquid chemical jets, while Type 4 provides protection from chemical spray. Type 3 is a far more demanding test and this is reflected in the more sophisticated design of seams, openings and connections for gloves etc.
EN 374 CHEMICAL PROTECTIVE GLOVES
Gloves to EN3674 provide protection against chemicals and micro-organisms. Gloves are classified into three types - Type A: Protective gloves with permeation resistance of at least 30 minutes each for at least 6 test chemicals, Type B: Protective gloves with permeation resistance of at least 30 minutes each for at least 3 test chemicals and Type C: Protective gloves with permeation resistance of at least 10 minutes for at least 1 test chemical.
EN 529 RESPIRATORY PROTECTIVE DEVICES.
There are numerous European standards for respiratory protection, but EN 529 provides guidance on the best practice for establishing and implementing a suitable respiratory protective device programme and is a good starting point.
CHEMICAL PROTECTIVE FOOTWEAR 5