The Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 2002

Protection against cutaneous and ocular contact

3.10.2.  PPE intended to prevent the surface contact of all or part of the body with dangerous substances and infective agents must be capable of preventing the penetration or diffusion of such substances through the protective integument under the foreseeable conditions of use for which the PPE is placed on the market.

• To this end, the constituent materials and other components of these PPE classes must be so chosen, or designed and incorporated as to ensure, as far as possible, complete leak-tightness, which will allow where necessary prolonged daily use or, failing this, limited leak-tightness necessitating a restriction of the period of wear.

• Where, by virtue of their nature and the foreseeable conditions of their use, certain dangerous substances or infective agents possess high penetrative power which limits the duration of the protection provided by the PPE in question, the latter must be subjected to standard tests with a view to their classification on the basis of efficiency. PPE which is considered to be in conformity with the test specifications must bear a mark indicating, in particular, the names or, failing this, the codes of the substances used in the tests and the corresponding standard period of protection. The manufacturer’s notes must also contain, in particular, an explanation of the codes (if necessary), a detailed description of the standard tests and all appropriate information for the determination of the maximum permissible period of wear under the different foreseeable conditions of use.