What the PPE Directive covers
Personal protective equipment (PPE) means any device or appliance designed to be worn or held by an individual for protection against one or more health and safety hazards. It protects employees against serious injury or illness arising from contact with chemicals and radiation, electrical or mechanical equipment, or hazardous workplaces. Beyond face shields, safety glass and safety footwear, PPE includes a large range of respiratory protection devices and protective clothing, such as safety helmets, goggles, hearing protectors (earplugs), safety gloves, safety shoes, respirators and safety belts.
Applicable regulation
- Personal Protective Equipment Directive 89/686/EEC
Products covered
Conformity assessment
PPE is divided into simple-design and complex-design categories. For certain categories of simple-design PPE, where the designer considers that the wearer can assess the protection level of low risks themselves, an EC type-examination may not be required. Low risks are those whose effect is gradual and can be safely detected by the user in time. This applies to PPE intended to protect the wearer against mechanical action on the skin (gardening gloves, thimbles, etc.); low-effect, easily removed cleaning materials (gloves for diluted detergent solutions, etc.); hazards encountered when handling hot workpieces that do not expose the user to temperatures above 50 °C or to dangerous impacts; non-extreme atmospheric conditions (safety helmets, seasonal clothing and footwear, etc.); minor impacts and vibration that do not injure vital parts of the body or cause irreversible damage (light helmets, gloves, light footwear, etc.); and sunlight (sunglasses).
Complex-design PPE, intended to prevent mortal danger or danger that may seriously and irreversibly damage health, and where the designer estimates that the user cannot perceive the danger in time, requires one of the two procedures set out in Article 11, at the manufacturer’s choice. This category is limited to filtering respiratory devices protecting against solid or liquid aerosols, or against irritating, dangerous, toxic or radiotoxic gases; breathing apparatus for total isolation from the atmosphere, including diving apparatus; PPE giving only limited protection against chemical attack or ionising radiation; emergency equipment used in high-temperature environments equivalent to 100 °C or more and characterised by infrared radiation, flames or large splashes of molten material; emergency equipment used at temperatures equivalent to -50 °C or below; PPE against falls from a height; and PPE against electric shock or voltage hazards, or used for insulation in live working.