This is a huge field and depends on the application. A brief listing of some of the major fields and standards is given below but you must know the hazard or combination of hazards that the user is to be exposed in order to select the appropriate garments.
• Flame Retardant - Wearing appropriate protection when working in foundries or when welding is essential. EN470 Part 1 - specification for use in welding and similar activities. EN531 - specification for industrial workers exposed to heat.
• High Visibility Garments - All high visibility garments should meet the current requirements of The Safety at Street Work and Road Works Code of Practice. EN471 Class 3 - is the highest protection level (maximum protection) worn on trunk roads and all other roads forming the Primary Route Network (PRN). EN471 Class 2 - provides intermediate protection (medium visibility) typically roads where the speed limit is less than 40mph. EN471 Class 1 - offers the lowest level of protection and should be only worn in areas of minimal risk such as off road situations like transport depots.
• Waterproof Clothing - EN343 - is the code relating to waterproof garments. Available in three classifications. EN343 Class 3 - affords the highest level of foul weather protection. EN343 Class 2 - will provide an intermediate level of foul weather protection. EN343 Class 1 - provides the lowest level of foul weather protection.
• Cold Store Clothing - EN342 - is the minimum standard for garments worn for protection against cold environments.
• Chemical Protection - In general chemical clothing is described as being of one of 6 types which correlate to 6 classes of performance. For example where the permeation as measured using EN 374-3, the breakthrough times are:-
The underlying standards for each type are EN 13034 Limited protection against liquid mist [type 6], EN ISO 13982-1 Protection against airborne solid particulate chemicals [type 5], EN 14605 Protection against liquid aerosols [type 4], EN 14605 Protection against pressurised liquid chemicals [type 3], EN 943-1 Non gas-tight protection [type 2], EN 943-1/ EN 943-2 Gas-tight protection against chemicals and vapours and toxic particles [type 1a or 1b].
• Chainsaw Protection - EN381 - is the standard governing protective clothing for users of hand-held chainsaws. There are 11 separate parts to this particular classification that cover different garments e.g. boots, gloves, jackets, trousers etc.
• Electrostatic Protection - EN1149 - is the suit of standards for protective clothing for users where electrostatic resistance is required. This would be in environments where a spark could cause explosions or ignite fires (e.g. petrol stations, petrol tanker drivers, flour mills, clean rooms etc). Garments according to this standard do not offer protection from mains voltages
• Fire fighters Protection - Specifically for heat and flame resistance EN 469 Protective clothing for fire-fighters and
ISO 15384 Protective clothing for wildland firefighting are the applicable standards
