Identification of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

 

Maintain laboratory safety

Identification of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

According to the UK regulations, personal protective equipment refers to any equipment that is meant to be worn and utilized by the person at work protecting him/her from any health risk thus acting as a protective barrier.

Protective equipment needs to meet the following requirements:

Ø  Provide maximum comfort and minimum weight compatible with the protective efficiency to reduce any probability of accidents and cause injury.

Ø  Provide adequate protection from the hazards to which the workers will be exposed

Ø  Durable

Ø  Well fitted so as to reduce incidences of making mistakes or loss of concentration.

Ø  Should not interfere with any movement.

Ø  Offer attractiveness or appeal in appearance.

Ø  Should be suited with the environmental/working conditions.

Ø  Clean and functional

Ø  Being suitable for disinfection.

 

a)      Face and eye protection

PPEs meant for face and eye protect against hazards such as:

Ø  Physical hazards: flying chips, shards from grinders, mills, power saws, drill presses, lathes; explosives

Ø  Chemical hazards: chemical splashes, sprays/aerosols, cryogenic material

Ø  Biological hazards: injurious, non-ionizing radiations or glaring. Also, it can protect against biological hazards such as infectious material, blood droplets.

Ø  Ionizing radiations/radiant energy : laser

 

        i.            Non-vented safety glasses

Safety glasses protect the eyes from objects in motion and not useful against splashes or vapor. It may be used alongside a side shield to protect the other areas.




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      ii.            Indirect vented safety goggles.

These are chemical splashes goggles that protect against flying objects / projectiles, sprays and impact. The present vents allow only air entry and not liquids.

 



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    iii.            Directed vented safety goggles

They are designed with side perforations around it allowing entry of air; useful for protection against projectiles and not splash/vapor.



 

    iv.            Face shield

Its purpose is to protect the face and can be used alongside safety goggles. It is used when there is a high likelihood of a splash, removing hot liquids from an autoclave or working with highly corrosive chemicals.



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      v.            Shaded / tinted eye or face protection

Commonly used for protection against radiant energy sources from arc and gas welding, soldering and brazing, laser, ultraviolet, and infrared. The color of the shade depends on type of radiant energy, the wavelength of the laser, etc. the kind and color of safety protection will vary. When choosing the correct eye protection, take into account the optical density (OD) needed since the higher the OD, the lower the light transmittance.

N/B: Individuals using corrective spectacles and required to wear eye protection have the option of: wearing safety spectacles with protective lenses providing optical correction, goggles worn over corrective spectacles without disturbing the adjustment of the spectacles; or goggles that incorporate corrective lenses mounted behind the protective lenses.


Care and maintenance

Broken, severely scratched or pitted lenses of the goggles/glasses and worn-out elastic headbands that hold the eye protectors should be replaced.

Cleaning and disinfection of the eye and face protectors should be done regularly.

Proper storage when not in use: in a clean, dust free place.

 

b)     Hand protection

Gloves are used in hand protection. Often, the glove type used ought to match with the type of chemical used by the personnel.

Glove types:

Selection of a glove type and material depends on the:

Type of exposure: incidental contact where there is little or no direct contact with the hazardous material or extended contact.

Nature of hazard: chemical type, temperature extreme properties, physical hazards, pH, toxicity and infectious properties.

        i.            Latex gloves

These are the most commonly used gloves with the following applications:

ü  Handling accidental spills, splashes, overspray

ü  Handling infectious agents that require barrier protection in medical/veterinary setups

ü  To prevent contamination of materials during handling e.g. biological matter

ü  Cleaning the working area

 

However they are not suitable for handling corrosive chemicals. Due to allergenicity of latex, hypoallergenic non-powdered gloves can be used instead. It is used at incidental contact instances and cannot be reused (disposable). Also, it is hard to detect any puncture holes.

      ii.            Nitrile gloves

The nitrile gloves can be used in the following applications (extended contact):

ü  Handling highly contaminated materials, chemicals or other hazardous substance

ü  Need for physical protection from temperature extremes or sharp/piercing objects

The light weight type can be a useful substitute for individuals that are allergenic to latex in latex gloves. It is used for general purposes, chemically resistant as it works well with solvents, oils, greases and some acids/alkali. It can be disposed or reused/ extended contact and clearly shows any presence of tears/breaks.

Good gloving practices:

Double gloving: wearing two pairs of gloves to offer extra protection. When the outer glove starts to degrade, one can tear it and continue with the inner glove. Moreover, one can ensure the outer glove is heavier and thicker than the inner glove. Another measure is to use gloves of different materials especially when handling hazardous material.

 

Care and maintenance

For reusable gloves/extended contact, check for the following:

Check the gloves for:

ü  Rips or punctures before and after each use

ü  Prior contamination

ü  Signs of color or texture degradation)

ü  Replace gloves as soon as signs of degradation appear.

ü  Wash after removal and air dry in the laboratory.

ü  Consider wearing inner surgical gloves for extra protection.

For disposable gloves, check for the following:

ü  Check for rips or punctures before use.

ü  Remove and replace gloves immediately with new ones when a chemical spills or splashes on them.

ü  Never wash or reuse disposable gloves.

ü  Always remove glove before touching common objects such as doorknobs, phones, or elevator buttons.

 

c)      Protective clothing

General considerations for material of protective clothing:

ü  Specially treated fabric that is fire resistant, protects against cuts and bruises

ü  Leather material protects against dry heat while rubber is active against acids and chemicals

ü  Paper like material protects against dusty setups

 

Lab coats

. The aim of using laboratory coats:

           Protection of skin and personal clothing from incidental contact and small splashes.

           Prevent the spread of contamination outside the lab (provided they are not worn outside the lab).

           Acts as a removable barrier in the event of an incident involving a spill or splash of hazardous substances.

Flame resistant test: the “flame resistant” refers to the characteristic of a fabric that causes it not to burn in air. The testing criteria involves applying an open flame to the bottom edge of a strip of fabric in a test chamber for 12 seconds and then looking at char length, after flame, and after glow, testing the self-extinguishing properties of the fabric. The flame resistance test criteria were intended to simulate circumstances of a flash fire, or electric arc flash, not a chemical fire.

Characteristics of a suitable lab coat: presence of tight cuffs, snap closures on the front and proper fit.

 

d)     Ear protection

Ear protection can be achieved by use of ear muffs and earplugs. They work by reducing the noise energy and in turn prevent damage to the inner ear.

 

 

 

Study questions

1.      Identify the photos, advantages and disadvantages of the following types of gloves:

Butyl rubber

Neoprene

Polyvinyl chloride

Polyvinyl alcohol

Stainless steel

Cryogenic resistant material leather

2.      State any four types of materials used in making lab coats.




 

APPENDIX

Lab coat types and characteristics

Material

Characteristics

Polyester/Cotton Blend

Non-flame resistant

May be chemical resistant

Light weight

Breathable

Used in clinical environment and laboratory dealing biological materials

 

80/20 or 65/35 or 40/60 ratio.

Limited chemical resistant property

100% Cotton

Not fluid resistant thus requires a laboratory apron

Light weight

Breathable

FR treated materials (either 100 % Cotton or primarily cotton treated with flame retardant)

More resistant to solvents

Useful in a lab setting against fire hazards

Polypropylene lab coat

Non chemical or flame resistant.

Useful for protection against dirt, grime, dry particulates in relatively non- hazardous environment such as animal handling and clean rooms.

Dupont Nomex

Expensive

Flame resistant

Used in petrochemical industry

 

 

 

 

Glove types and characteristics

 

Type

Characteristics

Latex

Used for incidental contact

Good for biological and water-based materials but poor for organic solvents

Little chemical protection.

Can puncture holes

Can cause or trigger latex allergies

 

Nitrile

Used for  incidental/extended contact

Good for solvents, oils, greases, and some acids and bases.

Clear indication of tears and breaks.

Good alternative for those with latex allergies

 

Butyl

Used for extended contact

Good for ketones and esters but poor for gasoline and aliphatic, aromatic, and halogenated hydrocarbons.

 

Neoprene

Good for acids, bases, alcohols, fuels, peroxides, hydrocarbons, and phenols but poor for halogenated and aromatic hydrocarbons.

 

Poly vinyl alcohol

Good for aromatic and chlorinated solvents but poor for water-based solutions

Poly vinyl chloride

Good for acids, bases, oils, fats, peroxides, and amines.

 Resistant to abrasions. Poor for most organic solvents

Viton

Good for chlorinated and aromatic solvents. Good resistance to cuts and abrasions. Poor for ketones.

 













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