Chemical Engineering May 2023 - 17

Newsfront
How Protective is Your PPE?
As process technologies - and their associated risks to workers - evolve, personal protective
equipment must continue to push the boundaries in both functionality and comfort
P
ersonal protective equipment
(PPE) - helmets, fireresistant
clothing, gloves,
goggles and so on - can
feel like a " second skin " to workers
that are frequently exposed to hazardous
conditions. But how can PPE
wearers be sure that these items are
actually providing the protection they
claim? In this article, a PPE specialist,
Amanda Newsom, principal engineer
at UL Solutions, LLC (Northbrook, Ill.;
www.ul.com), describes some of the
certification processes for PPE used
in industrial processing and manufacturing,
and the ongoing efforts to
improve upon industry standards to
ensure that workers are receiving the
most appropriate levels of protection.
Newsom represents UL on a number
of technical committees related to UL
certifications and standards.
Certifying chemical protection
Due to the large variety of chemicals
encountered in
industrial processing
and manufacturing, it has been
challenging to develop overarching
standards related to chemical
protective clothing. " In the U.S., we
don't really have a nationally recognized
industrial market-certification
for chemical protective clothing, so
organizations have to depend on
self-declared certification from PPE
manufacturers,
rather
than
thirdparty
certifications. Products may be
tested by third-party organizations,
but they are not certified by them, "
explains Newsom.
When PPE manufacturers self-declare
a certain level of performance
from their products, it comes from
evaluations done at their own laboratories
using their own data, so actual
levels of compliance may vary from
company to company, depending
on the test methods and materials
used. This lack of standardization,
Shutterstock
FIGURE 1. Efforts are underway to enhance the industry standards related to chemical-resistant clothing
so that workers are effectively protected while also maintaining their dexterity and mobility
adds Newsom, can lead to PPE endusers
actually overspecifying when it
comes to chemical protection. " They
evaluate the risks that workers might
be exposed to in the facility and they
specify a product that they know will
provide ample protection, but this
often leads to a level of over-protection,
which can result in other issues
for workers, such as heat stress or
accidents due to workers wearing
overly bulky clothing. " To address
these issues, there are ongoing industry
efforts to balance the risk assessments
that are undertaken by
PPE users with product-certification
efforts for chemical-protective clothing.
" We're working on better aligning
these concerns so that people
can actually get gear that enables
them to do their job safely, without
inhibiting their comfort or health, "
she emphasizes.
A simple example of PPE overspecification
is in facilities with risks
stemming from both liquid and gas
hazards. " In some oil-and-gas facilities,
the vast majority of the time,
sometimes as much as 99%, workCHEMICAL
ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM MAY 2023
ers are going to be exposed to liquids,
which allows them to wear a
much less-robust protective clothing,
because they are really only dealing
with a splash. But because they
still have the much smaller chance
of gas exposure or a gas leak, they
may end up wearing a completely
enclosed ensemble that has a selfcontained
breathing apparatus
(SCBA) tank, " explains Newsom. In
such instances, the provision of lessstringent
PPE, such as wearable gas
detectors, could potentially be recommended,
but in the absence of
standardization, some companies
simply default to specifying the maximum
level of protection possible.
A more consistent approach between
facility risk assessments
and certification activities will enable
users to make more informed
and
efficient
PPE
specifications
so that workers can still be reliably
protected without unnecessary
discomfort (Figure 1).
Newsom is participating in the development
committee for such PPE
standards through the International
17
http://www.ul.com http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
Chemical Engineering May 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering May 2023
