Sioen Professional Protective Clothing - 2016

Why wear flame retardant & anti-static clothing?
European and national legislation stipulate measures
to protect workers in areas with potentially explosive
environments (ATEX).
Two main European directives are of importance:
1. ATEX Manufacturers Directive (94/9/EC or
ATEX 95):
Defines requirements concerning equipment and
protective systems intended for use in potentially
explosive atmospheres. The directive places
responsibility on the manufacturer. Main responsibility
is prevention of the formation and ignition of
explosive atmospheres. This can be done by proving
compliance against a set of health and safety
requirements given in the directive. PPE which fall
under the scope of directive 89/686/EC (such as EN
1149-5 certified clothing) are explicitly excluded from
this ATEX directive, meaning that clothing cannot be
and should not be ATEX certified.
2. ATEX Users Directive (99/92/EC or ATEX 137):
Defines minimum requirements for improving safety
and health conditions of workers potentially to be
exposed to the risks from explosive atmospheres.
The directive places responsibility on the employer.
Typical responsibilities include:
• Assessment of risks
• Hazardous area classification
• Removal of potential risks
• Preparation of an Explosion protection Document
• Put adequate warning safety signs in place
• Prevention of and protection against explosions
If the risk for an explosive atmosphere cannot be
excluded the directive stipulates that:
• The ignition of the explosive atmosphere must
be avoided. Workers must be provided with the
appropriate working garments which do not
give rise to electrical discharges that can cause
ignition of the explosive atmosphere.
→ EN 1149 Anti-static protective clothing
• The detrimental effects of an explosion should
be reduced to ensure health and safety of the
workers. This can be done by also providing
workers with working garments offering heat and
flame protection.
→ EN ISO 11612 or EN ISO 14116 Flame retardant
protective clothing.
EN 1149-5
EN 1149-5 Protective clothing. Electrostatic
properties. Material performance and design
requirements
EN 1149-5 is part of a series of standards
for test methods and requirements for
electrostatic properties of protective clothing.
EN 1149-5 specifies material and design
requirements for electrostatic dissipative
protective clothing. It covers clothing used
as part of a total earthed system, to avoid
incendiary discharges. The requirements
may not be sufficient in oxygen enriched
flammable atmospheres. This standard
does not apply to protection against mains
voltages.
Some design / material requirements:
• the outermost antistatic (AST) material shall
permanently cover all non-complying layers (so
the overlap of the antistatic outer shell must
always be guaranteed when e.g. stretching,
lifting arms, bending over, ...).
• conductive trimmings are permitted (zips, buttons)
but must be covered with AST outer fabric
• non dissipative attachments (labels, retroreflective
stripes, ...) are permitted when
permanently attached
• clothing must be donned and doffed outside the
ATEX environment, worn fully closed and the
wearer must be properly earthed
• for materials containing conductive threads
in a stripe or grid pattern, the spacing of the
conductive threads in one direction shall not
exceed 10mm in any part of the garment.
Antistatic PPE are certified to EN1149-5 as this
standard covers the performance requirements and
refers to the choice of 2 different test methods:
• EN1149-1: Measurement of surface resistivity
• EN 1149-3: Measurement of charge decay
NORMS
MULTI-NORM NORMS & STANDARDS 379