Certifying Personal Protective Technologies Improving Worker Safety (2011) / Chapter Skim
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4 Impact and Issues in Conformity Assessment for PPT
4 Impact and Issues in Conformity Assessment for PPT
Pages 89-104
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From page 89... ...
Assessing the conformity assessment of PPT products is one part of the efforts needed across the life cycle of the product to ensure effectiveness; these efforts also encompass careful attention to design, quality manufacturing practices, end-user training, and evaluation of product performance in real-world use. For PPT to provide effective risk reduction, several criteria must be met: • PPT standard test methods must consistently reflect field condi tions and technology performance; • Standards must include an adequate margin of safety to ac commodate exposure variation in the work process and expected misuse; 89
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From page 90... ...
This chapter explores the limited types of data that are available on the impact of PPT conformity assessment on worker safety and health. The chapter also explores issues that pose particularly challenging questions for implementing and sustaining conformity assessment processes for PPT products.
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From page 91... ...
Engineering and administrative controls play a significant role in preventing hazardous exposures. Additionally, because the use of PPT is an individual-based measure, with ef fectiveness determined in large part by user decisions and quality of the fit, there can be wide variation in the apparent effective ness of PPT products in preventing illness or injury.
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From page 92... ...
found an 85 percent reduction in lower extremity burn injuries, a 65 percent reduction in upper extremity burn injuries, and a significant reduction in head burn injuries in firefighters who used more protective uniforms and hoods. In successful outcomes to some disaster situations, wearing PPT has played a major role.
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From page 93... ...
Data Needs Estimates of the occupational health and safety risks due to hazardous exposures can be quantified based on knowledge about the exposure. However, health surveillance data on PPT use in the workplace are limited or missing, including data on the extent and nature of PPT use and on adverse outcomes that occur related to PPT use (those that occur due to PPT failures, while wearing PPT, and when not wearing PPT in work situations requiring PPT use)
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From page 94... ...
Similarly, interfaces between coverall sleeves and gloves or between coverall cuffs and boots may result in gaps, overlap, or unprotected areas. The ability of the ensemble to protect the worker depends on the following factors: • Proper design, manufacturing, and testing of the individual com ponents and the interfaces among components to meet appropri ate design specifications and performance standards; • Ensuring that the combination of individual personal protective equipment items does not degrade the performance of any of the items in the ensemble; and • Properly training the worker about the workplace hazards and how to assemble, evaluate, wear, clean, store, maintain, and re place the ensemble or any of the items and their components.
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From page 95... ...
NIOSH and its National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) , working with manufacturers, users, and other stakeholders, can play an important leadership role in efforts to move toward performance standards and test methods for protective ensembles and individual PPT items that address interface issues.
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From page 96... ...
of influenza transmission will inform the development and selection of appropriate PPT ensembles. Research on protective ensembles for healthcare workers should address infection control precautions at each level of use from standard precautions to the three levels of transmission-based precautions (contact, droplet, and airborne)
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From page 97... ...
Requirements for protective clothing, on the other hand, vary depending on the use (e.g., healthcare worker gowns need Food and Drug Administration [FDA] clearance; protective clothing for firefighters must be certified by third-party organizations to meet NFPA standards; construction hard hats, fall arrest harnesses, and arc flash protective clothing can be voluntarily assessed to meet ANSI-related standards by third-party laboratories and certifying organizations; and protective clothing products for agricultural workers are just beginning to enter the conformity assessment process)
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From page 98... ...
Unintended Consequences of Wearing PPT Although PPT products are designed to protect the worker from various hazards, the use of PPT may affect the worker's productivity or ability to perform tasks due to physical discomfort or impaired senses. These unintended consequences include reduced peripheral vision or visibility, claustrophobia, breathing difficulty, impaired communication, reduced dexterity, increased slip and trip hazards, increased exertion or workload, overheating, static charge risks in explosive atmospheres, and skin abrasion and contact dermatitis.
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From page 99... ...
The contracts may incorporate additional testing protocols and performance standards (e.g., military specifications) ; contracts may refer directly to specific consensus standards (e.g., compliance with specific NFPA or ANSI-related standards)
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From page 100... ...
Federal contracts incorporating PPT performance standards and requiring third-party testing with stipulations for follow-up research may provide valuable baseline data to determine the effectiveness of such interventions, similar to Executive Orders that have set aside selected federal building projects to serve as test beds for evaluating innovative "green" and energyefficiency technologies. Risk Assessment Unlike products that are designed for recreational, informational, computational, or other purposes, PPT products are designed to protect against and reduce hazardous exposures.
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From page 101... ...
. BOX 4-1 Probabilistic Risk-Based Approach to PPT Conformity Assessment The committee explored the use of a probabilistic risk-based approach to PPT conformity assessment that would evaluate and quantify the probability of the PPT product meeting the need to protect the user from the hazards, risks, and/or exposures associated with the user's tasks in the environment and con ditions of the system in which he or she works.
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From page 102... ...
2010. Guide to application of the Directive 89/686/EEC on personal protective equipment -- appendix.
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From page 103... ...
EM 385-1-1, Section 5. Personal protective and safety equipment.
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