From the course: Understanding Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Hand and foot protection

- [Instructor] The purpose of hand protection through the use of gloves is straightforward. Gloves are meant to provide a physical barrier between our hands and some outside hazard. What may not be a straightforward though is matching the glove to the specific hazard. Hazards can include cuts and scrapes, burns from heat or chemicals, or biological hazards from substances that can be absorbed through the skin. Each one of these different types of hazards may require a different type of glove. When you move into harsher environments that may expose your hands to more abrasive conditions, disposable gloves may provide a decent barrier, but they may not hold up for very long. So you move to a heavier rubber glove. Some chemicals though will eat through materials like latex. So you need the select gloves made from a material that's resistant to the chemical you're using. If you're using gloves to protect against cuts, scrapes, or burns, you need to consider your environment and conditions. Leather work gloves work fine in many general construction settings. Heavier welding gloves are needed though, when working with things like torches and welding machines, and then people like butchers working with knives may need to select cut-proof gloves that are made from special fabrics, like Kevlar. A few last things to consider with gloves. Number one, some people are allergic to latex, which is why many people will select nitrile disposable gloves instead. In a healthcare setting you may need to consider that even if you aren't allergic to latex, your patient might be. And number two, the thicker the glove, the less flexibility and dexterity you're going to have. You need to balance these things out, and make sure your glove selection is not limiting your movements to the point of creating a greater hazard. And then finally, number three, gloves protect your hands only. If the gloves get contaminated, and you touch other things like your face, you will transfer whatever is on your glove to whatever you touch. Okay, moving down to our feet. Footwear used as PPE can have two different purposes. Like gloves, work boots or shoes can provide a physical barrier between your feet and the surrounding hazards. Heavy leather boots or shoes can provide some general protection. Steel or hard toe boots provide additional protection for your toes in case heavy things get dropped on them. And then special boots with what we call metatarsal guards built in provide hard protection for the entire top of the foot, not just the toes. Moving through these three types of boots or shoes, also tends to move the comfort level down. Steel-toed boots can be less comfortable than the simple leather work shoes, and boots with metatarsal guards are just really not that comfortable at all. Keep this in mind when you're going to be on your feet all day and shop for footwear that fits well and doesn't make your feet hurt. There are also externally worn options here as well. You can get toe guards that can be strapped on, and metatarsal guards that fit over your work boots. So you can just add those as needed. Now, some environments and workplaces will also have additional requirements for things like chemical resistance, or EH-rated footwear that provides protection from different types of electrical hazards. These are situations where you once again, need to match the materials to the hazard. Now, besides having a barrier between your feet, and the surrounding environments, boots and shoes used as PPE should be designed to provide better traction as you walk through your job site or your environment. You can look for a designation on the footwear that indicates that it's been tested for slip resistance, like designation such as ASTM F2913. If you really want to longer discussion on slip resistant footwear, check out the article that appeared in Industrial Safety and Hygiene News. Protect your hands and feet because it's hard to get anything done when you're in a cast.

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