PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

(PPE)

Safety Unit Lesson 2Objective: Explain and Identify proper personal protection used in welding.

PPE

Each person in the shop wears general work clothing. Extra protection is needed for each person in direct contact with hot materials. Depending on the specific job and conditions, protective equipment can include.

Body Protection Foot Protection Hand Protection Ear Protection Eye, Face, and Head Protection

Clothing Basic clothing should offer protection from flying

sparks, heat and Ultra Violet light. Shirts should have no pockets or a flap over the pocket. Pants should not be too baggy and no frayed or rolled

cuffs to catch sparks. Polyester or other synthetic fabrics should never be

worn; sparks can melt these materials causing severe burns.

Lighters or matches should not be kept in pockets or near sources of heat or sparks.

Loose fitting clothes, ties, and long hair are hazards to personal safety especially around rotating equipment.

WELDING CAP SAFETY GLASSES

DUST MASK

LEATHER WELDING JACKET

GAUNTLET TYPE WELDING GLOVES

WELDING HELMET

LEATHER APRON

LONG PANTS

LEATHER SPATS

HIGH TOP LEATHER WORK BOOTS

Body Protection

Body ProtectionWelding Jackets come in 3 basic types.

1. Light weight fire retardant cloth. Good for light duty welding or cutting.

2. Medium weight fire retardant cloth with leather sleeves. Good for light welding in the vertical and overhead positions.

3. Heavy full leather jacket. Good for high heat, heavy duty welding in all positions especially overhead.

Foot ProtectionThe Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that protective footwear be worn when working where falling, rolling or sharp objects pose a danger of foot injuries and where feet are exposed to electrical hazards.

Foot protection comes in many forms and usually depends on the work environment. In the welding shop environment smooth top leather boots at least 8” tall with steel reinforced safety toe is best.

Foot ProtectionAdditional foot protection can be had in the form of Spats or heavy boots with metatarsal protection.

Hand Protection

Gloves are the primary type of hand protection. Gloves should be chosen based on the hazards involved in the work being done.

To protect from UV rays when welding, gauntlet type welding gloves should be worn.

For high heat welding, heavy duty gloves with heat reflective coverings are used.

Hand ProtectionSome specially designed gloves can protect more of the arm. Others are designed to protect against extreme temps.

Some light weight leather gloves are good for light GMAW or GTAW welding with little sparks.

Leather work gloves are good for general work and handling metal. Light welding can be done with caution. The cloth backs can easily melt from the heat generated during welding.

Hearing Protection

•Hearing loss due to damage from loud noise is too common and easily preventable.

•Sound is measured in decibels (db), normal speech is around 60 db.

•An increase of 10 db means the sound is 10 times louder.

• Long or repeated exposure at or above 85 db can cause permanent damage and loss of hearing.

Hearing ProtectionThere are two basic types of hearing protection.

•Around the ear protection such as earmuffs. Generally considered to be the best type of hearing and ear protection.

•Ear plugs which go in the ear canal and can be reusable or disposable. The disposable type ear plug is the most common.

A combination of both around the ear and in the ear can be required in some extreme noise work environments.

Hearing ProtectionPainful150 dB = rock music peak140 dB = firearms, air raid siren, jet engine130 dB = jackhammer120 dB = jet plane take-off, amplified rock music at

4-6 ft., car stereo, band practice

Extremely Loud110 dB = rock music, model airplane106 dB = timpani and bass drum rolls100 dB = snowmobile, chain saw, pneumatic drill90 dB = lawnmower, shop tools, truck traffic, subway

Very Loud80 dB = alarm clock, busy street70 dB = busy traffic, vacuum cleaner60 dB = conversation, dishwasher

Moderate50 dB = moderate rainfall40 dB = quiet room

Faint30 dB = whisper, quiet library 

Eye ProtectionSafety glasses will be the first piece of PPE put on when entering the shop when work is being done.

Safety glasses must meet ANSI Z87 standards to be approved for use in the shop.

Safety glasses are your first line of defense against eye damage. There are hazards in the welding environment which require additional protection.

Eye ProtectionThe welding arc is brighter than the sun and produces radiation in the form of Ultraviolet Light.

Flash burn: is a burn to the eyes from UV light that can harm unprotected eyes in just seconds and can cause permanent damage to the retina.

Oxy-fuel cutting or welding produces radiation in the form of Infrared light. Infrared light is not as damaging as UV but can cause permanent damage if exposed for long periods of time.

Eye ProtectionWelding helmets come in all kinds of shapes, size’s, and colors. Some helmets come with variable shade lenses that will automatically darken when the welding arc is struck.The darkness of the shade or the shade number is dependant on type of welding and the amount of current being used.

Face and Head Protection

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