5 Types of Personal Protective Equipment

If you work in an industry where you might be exposed to hazards, your employers should be doing everything within their power to reduce those exposures. 

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is specially designed equipment that provides individual protection from exposure to chemical, biological, and physical hazards on a worksite. There are different types of PPE, and what is right for you varies based on the work you're doing.

Read on for some of the key types of personal protective equipment, and learn how to protect yourself against hazards in the workplace.

Face and Eye Protection

Face and eye protection are some of the most common forms of PPE. Every day hundreds of workers incur eye injuries, and even if it's a minor injury it can still be easily prevented.

Forms of face and eye protection includes safety glasses and goggles, face shields, and visors. These should be worn when performing operations such as welding, working with lasers or other intense lighting machinery, or working with harmful gases or vapor.

Respiratory Protection

This type of personal protective equipment has been all over the news lately due to pandemic fears, but respiratory protection is used in a wide variety of industries, not just healthcare.

The most common type of respiratory protection is facemasks, whether it's surgical masks, N95 respirator masks, or gas masks. These provide protection from harmful gas and chemicals, splashes and splatter that may contain viruses or bacteria such as COVID-19. Surgical masks and N95s should be replaced as frequently as possible to avoid contamination. 

Types of Personal Protective Equipment for the Skin and Body

These types of personal protective equipment focus mostly on physical dangers rather than chemical ones, but there are protections for chemicals as well.

Head Protection is commonly used in construction work, or any other industry that could involve falling objects or other force to the head. This PPE includes headgear and hard hats. 

Fall Protection is also used in construction work, as well as any industry that involves heights such as commercial window cleaning. This PPE includes lanyards and safety harnesses. 

Body Protection is used in a wide variety of fields, as protection from everything from extreme temperature to toxic chemicals to dangerous viruses. This type of PPE includes safety vests and full bodysuits.

Other types of PPE for the skin and body include gloves to protect against hazardous materials and sharp objects, and boots to protect against slipping and falling or objects dropping. 

Protect Yourself and Your Staff

Now that you're familiar with the different types of personal protective equipment, and what they're best suited for, it's time to make sure you and your staff are protected. 

At The Safety Source LLC we're committed to your safety, no matter what industry you're in. Healthcare workers on the front lines are our priority, but we're here to make sure every worker stays protected, no matter what they're doing.

Stay safe, and check out our  stock of personal protective equipment.