Chemical protection:  Four key steps

There are a number of health issues that can affect employees exposed to hazardous chemicals. These range from burns to the skin and skin cancer to diseases of the heart, kidneys, circulatory and nervous systems as well as poisoning as a result of chemicals passing through the skin.

Prevention is always better than cure, but there are situations and processes that necessitate workers having some contact with potentially hazardous chemicals, thus making Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) essential. Ensuring that these situations are identified and the correct type of protective coveralls chosen can be achieved in four key steps.

Risk assessment

All health and safety procedures should be based on a full and documented process of risk assessment. In determining the need for chemical protection, it is necessary to identify any hazardous substance to which a worker may become exposed. These can be naturally occurring, biological or man-made and there is a wealth of information available to help identify them. A key resource is the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) ‘Skin at Work’ website (hse.gove.uk/skin), while the HSE’s publication ‘EH40/2005 Workplace Exposure Limits’ identifies substances that may cause damage to the skin with an ‘Sk’ notation. It is also important to take note of product labels and the information provided by trade associations and their journals and websites.

Just who might be exposed to a hazardous substance also needs to be assessed. Exposure can range from a single brief contact with a corrosive substance, such as wet cement, strong acids and strong alkalis, that cause burning, to regular contact with mild irritants or even prolonged contact with water.

For some specific everyday tasks - such as spray painting in automotive bodyshops - the need for PPE is self-evident. However, workers may also be exposed to one-off or intermittent hazards whilst performing infrequent tasks. It is therefore essential that risk assessments are carried out in all circumstances and any need for PPE identified.

Control measures

The first, and best, control measure is prevention. There is a hierarchy of control which starts with elimination or substitution of the process or substance involved.  Where this cannot realistically be achieved, there are engineering controls such as the introduction of spray booths or automated systems, which will reduce potential human exposure to hazardous substances. After any control measures are in place, the final recourse is safety equipment and PPE.  

When considering chemical hazards, an appropriate type of PPE is a protective coverall that, as a control measure, has to be suitable for the task being carried out. This may mean that a higher protection type of coverall is required, but this is not always the case, so careful assessment needs to be undertaken. It is not uncommon, for example, for operatives in jet washing environments to wear coveralls that only protect them against water penetration.  However, the presence of chemicals in the jet wash could mean that a more protective coverall is required. A higher level of protection is often needed to protect workers during tasks in a wide variety of industries. For example:

Chemical industry: tasks involving mixing, pouring and weighing chemicals, loading and unloading chemical containers and cleaning operations

Pharmaceutical industry: preparation and cleaning operations relating to some corrosive or aggressive drugs and spill, clean-up and accident intervention

Healthcare, emergency services, water treatment industries: risks can include handling human or veterinary waste with biological agents or biologically contaminated liquids

Oil and gas industry: oil handling, land decontamination, production plant decommissioning, oil tank cleaning, spill clean-up and accident intervention

Selecting PPE

PPE has to be fit for purpose. To ensure the correct level of protection, the first step is to identify the specific chemical hazard that it needs to protect against. This is essential to ensure that the PPE provides adequate protection and that it is capable of managing exposure to acceptable levels. The equipment must also be suitable for the environment, the task and, most importantly, the wearer.  

In some instances exposure may be limited to the hands alone, but where the nature of exposure may include immersion, splash or spray, whole body protection in the form of coveralls will be required. Hazards can vary across industry sectors, so the correct type of clothing must be chosen to meet the legal requirements for PPE in a specific working environment.

There are a number of different tests and standards relating to protective coveralls.  EN 340 is the high level standard for protective clothing, which specifies general requirements such as material, labelling, sizing and weight that apply to different types of clothing. For protective coveralls, it requires that products also comply with certain ‘type’ standards relating to the type of protection required. This could be gas, non-gas, jet, spray, particle or limited splash.

 

Each type of protective clothing has its own standard and/or test and products can be approved to more than one standard and type. Within each type standard, there are also a number of material requirements such as abrasion resistance, tensile strength and puncture resistance.  This information enables comparison between different products and their relative merits for a specific environment.

Training

It is not enough to just identify and assess risks and then provide the PPE most suitable to the situation. Employees should also be properly trained to understand why they need PPE and how they should use it. It is important that they understand the hazards posed by the chemicals they come into contact with and any warning signs they should look out for.

As already highlighted, it is essential that workers understand the level of protection they require and the limitations of its use. Coveralls that offer protection against chemical hazards are designed for one-time use only, yet this is often ignored and coveralls are worn repeatedly, meaning that the wearer may not be fully protected.  

Protocols for storage, donning and doffing and disposal must be understood and routinely followed. For example, in certain industries such as food and beverage or pharmaceuticals, coveralls may need to be donned and doffed in a clean room environment. Once used, it should be assumed that the coverall is contaminated and when disposed of, it should be disposed of in the appropriate waste stream. 

Chemical hazards have to be taken seriously, both by those responsible for health and safety measures within an organisation and by those actually exposed to them.  Education is the key at every level to ensure that a successful health and safety programme is delivered.

 

Following these four key steps – risk assessment, employing control measures, PPE selection and training – can best ensure that the correct type of protective coveralls are identified for the workplace environment.