Glossary for Hearing, Head and Face Protection
General
ACGIH – American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists(USA)
AIHA – American Industrial Hygiene Association (USA)
BSI – British Standards Institute
CE Mark
Symbol printed on the product/packaging that informs the market that the product meets the essential requirements of the European directives relating to PPE. It could be described as a ‘passport’ to sell products within the European Union. It is not a quality mark.
EN – European Standard
Technical documents agreed by experts from European countries stating minimum performance requirements and testing methods for a given type of PPE.
HASAWA – Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (United Kingdom)
HSA – Health and Safety Authority(Ireland)
HSC – Health and Safety Commission(United Kingdom)
HSE – Health and Safety Executive(United Kingdom)
NIOSH – National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (USA)
OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (USA)
HPE – Hearing Protective Equipment
APVf – Assumed Protection Value Attenuation
Effective level of hearing protection.
dB – Decibel
Unit of sound/ noise measurement.
dB(A) - Decibel scale weighted to reflect the performance of human hearing.
HML – High, Medium and Low Bands of Frequency.
Hz – Hertz
Unit of measurement for Frequency.
Leq – Equivalent continuous noise level
L EP,d – Daily personal noise exposure
Mf - Mean attenuation
Sf – Standard deviation
EN352-1
The European Standard for Ear Muffs. The Standard includes the following requirements:
Adjustability
The ability of the ear muffs to fit a range of head sizes is assessed.
Headband Force
A maximum force applied by the head band of 14 Newtons is specified.
Cushion Pressure
A maximum pressure applied by the cushions is specified at 4500 Pa.
Resistance to damage
The ear muffs are dropped from a height of 1.5 metres onto a steel plate .
Ignitability
A rod heated to 650°C ± 20°C is applied to the surfaces of the product for 5 seconds. The surface must not ignite or continue to glow after the rod has been removed.
EN352-2
The European Standard for Ear Plugs.
EN352-3
The European Standard for Ear Muff and Helmet combinations.
Head Protection
EN397
The European Standard for Safety Helmets. There are several additional voluntary requirements. These are marked as follows on the product:
- -30°C - Very low temperatures
- 440 vac - Leakage current
- LD - Lateral deformation
- MM - Molten metal splashes
Face Protection
EN166 and EN1731
The European Standards for Visors include the following requirements:
Coverage
The ability of the visors to cover a certain area of the face as specified in the standard.
Optical requirements
Optical class 1 is the highest level.
Ignitability
A rod heated to 650°C +/- 20°C is applied to the surfaces of the products for 5 seconds. The surface must not ignite or continue to glow after the rod has been removed.
Impact resistance
The ability of the visors to withstand the impact of a 6 mm nominal diameter steel ball striking the visor at one of following speeds:
Mechanical strength
Symbol---Speed---Mechanical strength
- S------12m/s---Increased robustness
- F------45m/s---Low energy impact
- B-----120m/s---Medium energy impact
- A-----190m/s---High energy impact
Optional tests
Symbol
- 3 Protection against liquid splash
- 9 Protection against molten metals and hot solids
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