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Paint Safety Guideline #5: Personal

protective equipment (PPE)

Safety and Health in Arts Production and Entertainment (SHAPE) Suite 2801385 West 8th Ave Vancouver, BC V6H 3V9

Tel 604.733.4682 Toll-free 1.888.229.1455 Fax 604.733.4692 E-mail info@shape.bc.ca Web www.shape.bc.ca

Personal protective equipment (PPE) such as safety gog-

gles, earplugs, respirators, gloves, and protective footwear

can help protect workers against injury and exposure to

hazardous materials. If other prevention methods (for

example, substitution) are not feasible or your workers

require additional protection, then you should consider

PPE that is appropriate for the products being used in

your paint department. In some cases PPE is required

even if other controls are in place.

PPE is the last line of defense

Although PPE is a useful form of prevention, you should

not rely on it alone to protect workers against exposures to

hazardous materials. Before resorting to PPE, you should

first consider substitution, engineering controls, and admin-

istrative controls, and use them wherever possible. For more

information, see the following information sheets:

Paint Safety Guideline #2: Substitution Choices for Com-

mon Products Paint Safety Guideline #3: Ventilation

Paint Safety Guideline #4: Paint-Spraying Systems

Employer responsibilities

Employers are responsible for the following:

Educate and train workers in the proper use and limita-

tions of PPE.

Make PPE available to workers and ensure that they

use it when necessary.

Ensure that PPE is cleaned, inspected, maintained, and

stored as required.

Worker responsibilities

Workers are responsible for the following:

Use any required PPE as instructed.

Inspect PPE before each use.

Report any equipment malfunctions to the supervisor

or employer.

Ensure that the equipment is cleaned, maintained, and

stored as described in training.

Air-purifying respirators:Restrictions

Air-purifying respirators must not be used in the follow-

ing circumstances:

when working in an oxygen-deficient environment

when a hazardous concentration is at a level that is

immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH)

for half-mask respirators, when the concentration of

the contaminant is 10 times the exposure limit

if the worker has not been fit tested

if the worker is not clean shaven

when spraying respiratory sensitizers (for example,

isocyanates, urethanes, and materials containing resin)

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Painting

method

Product Respirator Respirator

cartridge

Gloves Eye

protection

Hearing

protection

Protective

clothing

Brush Latex paints Not required inwell-ventilated

areas

N/A N/A N/A Depends onnoise sources Long sleeves,pants, or

coveralls

Oil-based

products

Air-purifying half

mask

Organic vapour Nitrile Safety

glasses

Depends on

noise sources

Long sleeves,

pants, or

coveralls

Products containing

isocyanates

Air-supplied full

face

N/A Nitrile N/A Depends on

noise sources

Tyvek suit

Roller Latex paints Not required in

well-ventilated

areas

N/A N/A N/A Depends on

noise sources

Long sleeves,

pants, or

coveralls

Oil-based

products

Air-purifying half

mask

Organic vapour Nitrile Safety

glasses

Depends on

noise sources

Long sleeves,

pants, orcoveralls

Products containing

isocyanates

Air-supplied full

face

N/A Nitrile N/A Depends on

noise sources

Tyvek suit

Spray

system

Latex paints Air-purifying half

mask

Organic vapour

with P100

particulate filter

Nitrile Safety

glasses or

goggles

Yes Tyvek suit

Oil-based

products

Air-purifying

full or half mask

Organic vapour

with P100

particulate filter

Nitrile Goggles (if

using a half

mask

respirator)

Yes Tyvek suit

Products containing

isocyanates

Air-supplied full

face

N/A Nitrile N/A Yes Tyvek suit

PPE requirements for painting*

* Note: Table 1 is a basic guideline only; it assumes that painting is being done in a well-ventilated area, a spray booth, or outdoorswith appropriate controls in place. It also assumes that workers are using low to moderate quantities of paint. If larger quantitiesof paint are involved, use more stringent controls to ensure worker safety. In any case, you should always perform a risk assessmentbefore painting and refer to material safety data sheets (MSDSs) for specific information on appropriate PPE for the product beingused.

Note: Workers should always use full-face air-supplied respirators when working with isocyanates because they have no warningsigns and are extremely toxic. Furthermore, respirator cartridges have no effective end-of-life service indicator for cartridge replace-ment.

when the worker has a medical condition (for example,

asthma, heart disease, or high blood pressure)

Types of PPE

This section describes a few guidelines for commonly

used PPE, including respirators, gloves, hearing protec-

tion, protective clothing, and steel-toed boots.

Respirators

Respirators should be fit-tested at least once a year. If a

new respirator is used, it must be fit-tested first. Contact

SHAPE to have fit-tests performed at your workplace for

free.

Except for specialty eyewear approved by WorkSafe BC

for use with positive pressure full facepiece respirators,

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nothing is permitted which intrudes between the face-

piece and the face, or which interferes with the face seal

of the facepiece.

A worker required to wear a respirator which requires

an effective seal with the face for proper functioning

must be clean shaven where the respirator seals with the

face.

Fit-tests

A respirator which requires an effective seal with the

face for proper functioning must not be issued to a

worker unless a fit test demonstrates that the facepieceforms an effective seal with the wearers face. This does

not apply to a single use (disposable) respirator unless the

manufacturers instructions indicate that a fit test can be

performed.

Other personal protective equipment that is to be worn

at the same time as a respirator and which could interfere

with the respirator fit must be worn during a fit test.

After a respirator is issued to a worker, the fit test mustbe repeated at least annually to ensure that the face seal

remains effective.

Fit-check

Before each use of a respirator which requires an effec-

tive seal with the face for proper functioning, a worker

must perform a positive and negative pressure fit check.

This does not apply to a single use (disposable) respira-

tor, or to the emergency use of an escape respirator.

If a worker is required to use a respirator and there is

doubt about the workers ability to use a respirator for

medical reasons, the worker must be examined by a phy-

sician, and the examining physician must be provided

with sufficient information to allow the physician to

advise the employer of the ability of the worker to wear a

respirator.

Gloves

Follow these basic guidelines for gloves:

Nitrile gloves are best for general painting, but be

sure to change them after every break to prevent break-

through.

Neoprene gloves should be used for all solvent and

cleaning procedures.

Latex gloves are not recommended because they are an

allergen and do not provide sufficient protection.

Cotton gloves are a good option to prevent skin rashes

while applying plasters.

Be sure to check Material Safety Data Sheets forappropriate gloves.

Hearing protection

Occupational hearing loss is the third-most-common

occupational disease after tendonitis and bursitis. Work-

ers who are using power tools or working around noise

sources should wear hearing protection such as earmuffs

or earplugs. Workers who are exposed to noise that is

85 dBA or greater should receive annual hearing tests tomonitor their hearing over time. Employers can contact

SHAPE to arrange for hearing tests.

Note: This publication does not replace the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation administered by the Workers Compensation Board of British Columbia.

Employers and workers should always refer to the Regulation for specific requirements that apply to their activities.

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The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) rates hearing

protection as Class A,B,C or Grade 0,1,2,3,4, depending

on the amount of noise reduction the protector provides,

The recommended protection for an eight-hour noise

exposure is:

Lex,8(dBA) Grade Class

90 1 C

95 2 B

100 3 A

105 4 A

110 Dual*

*Dual hearing protection required. Use a minimum of

a Grade 2 or Class B earmuff and a Grade 3 or Class A

earplug.

Other factors are just as important as the noise level of

the job:

Your hearing ability

Your need to communicate on the job

Temperature and climate

Size of your ear canal, shape of head and jaw

Safety eyewear

A worker must wear properly fitting safety eyewear ap-

propriate to the conditions of the workplace if handling

or exposed to materials which are likely to injure or

irritate the eyes.

Protective clothing

Protective clothing helps prevent the contamination of

regular clothing and skin. By using protective clothing

as instructed, workers can avoid bringing contaminated

clothing home and possibly exposing their families

and friends to hazardous materials from the workplace.

Employers must provide body protection when workers

are exposed to skin-irritating paints and paints that can

be absorbed through the skin. For a list of skin-irritat-

ing products, see Table 1 in the information sheet Paint

Safety Guideline #2: Substitution Choices for Common

Products.

Safety footwear

Painters should always wear closed-toe shoes. The Regu-

lation does not require painters to wear steel-toed bootsin general, but employers are required to perform a risk

assessment to determine if safety footwear is necessary in

a specific workplace. The risk assessment should consider

the presence of objects that may pose a threat of dam-

aging workers toes. It is generally recommended that

painters wear steel-toed boots while:

working on sets

carrying and handling heavy materials

walking through areas where others are working with

heavy objects

working where nails or other sharp objects could pen-

etrate their footwear

Further information

For more information, see the following sections of theOccupational Health and Safety Regulation ,

(http://regulation.healthandsafetycentre.org):

Part 8, Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment

Sections 7.1 to 7.9 (Division 1, Noise Exposure)

2006 Safety and Health in Arts Production and Entertainment (SHAPE). All rights reserved.

SHAPE

that SHAPE is acknowledged. However, no part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, or distributed for profit or other commercial

enterprise, nor may any part be incorporated into any other publication, without written permission of SHAPE.

4 Paint Safety Guideline #5: Personal Protective Equipment

Rev Jan/06