The Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 2002

Protection against electric shock

3.8.  PPE designed to protect all or part of the body against the effects of electric current must be sufficiently insulated against the voltages to which the user is likely to be exposed under the most unfavourable foreseeable conditions.

• To this end, the constituent materials and other components of these PPE classes must be so chosen or designed and incorporated as to ensure that the leakage current measured through the protective integument under test conditions at voltages correlated with those likely to be encountered in situ is minimised and, at all events, below a maximum conventional permissible value which correlates with the tolerance threshold.

• Together with their packaging, PPE types intended exclusively for use during work or activities in electrical installations which are or may be under tension must bear markings indicating, in particular, their protection class and (or) corresponding operating voltage, their serial number and their date of manufacture; a space must also be provided outside the protective integument of such PPE for the subsequent inscription of the date of entry into service and those of the periodic tests or inspections to be conducted.

• The manufacturer’s notes must indicate, in particular, the exclusive use for which these PPE types are intended and the nature and frequency of the dielectric tests to which they are to be subjected during their useful life.