Environmental Health & Safety
Personal Protective Equipment Program
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PDF Version of Personal Protective Equipment Program
- PROCEDURES
- Design
- Hazard Assessment and Equipment Selection
- Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan
- Respiratory Protection Program
- Chemical Hygiene Plan
- Laser Safety Manual
- Hearing Conservation Program
- Hazardous Drug Policy
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) for laboratory chemicals
- SOP’s Work Instructions, Preventative maintenance Plans (PMs) for facilities and equipment
- UCAR Chemical Safety
- Defective and Damaged Equipment
- Training
- When PPE is required
- What PPE is required
- How to properly don, doff, adjust, and wear PPE
- The limitations of the PPE
- Proper care, maintenance, useful life, and disposal of the PPE
- The Supervisor has reason to believe that an affected employee does not have the required understanding or skill to properly use the PPE.
- Changes in the workplace, tasks, or protective equipment render previous training obsolete.
- Payment for Personal Protective Equipment
- Replacement
- Upgrades and Personalized PPE
- Hand Tools
The University shall provide PPE for the eyes, face, head, extremities, respiratory system, auditory system, and protective clothing to its employees in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) standard on Personal Protective Equipment, 29 CFR 1910.132. PPE shall be used, and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition whenever it is required due to hazards of processes or environment, chemical hazards, radiological hazards, physical hazards or mechanical irritants encountered in a manner capable of causing injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body through absorption, inhalation, or physical contact. These standards apply to hard hats, gloves, safety shoes, safety glasses, welding helmets, goggles, face shields, chemical protective equipment, fall protection equipment, and other PPE items.
All personal protective equipment shall be of safe design and construction for the work to be performed in conformance of ANSI/ASTM standards.
The Supervisor shall ensure that a hazard assessment is performed to determine if hazards exist, are/or likely to exist that require the use of personal protective equipment. The Supervisor must provide written certification (CHA) identifying all workplace hazards, the person certifying that the assessment was performed, and the date(s) of the assessment. If hazards or potential hazards are found, the Supervisor shall ensure that all feasible measures are taken to mitigate those hazards through elimination, substitution, engineering or administrative controls, and that correct and appropriate, properly-fitting personal protective equipment is provided to, and properly used, by all employees who are or may be exposed to those hazards if they cannot be mitigated. A CHA form is located on the EH&S website at http://www.safety.rochester.edu/ih/jha/pdf/hazardassessment.pdf.
UR Environmental Health and Safety can assist with completing CHA and selecting appropriate personal protective equipment.
The University of Rochester website contains resources on potential hazards, good work practices, and PPE, including but not limited to:
Defective or damaged personal protective equipment must not be used and must be labeled as defective or damaged before being removed from service for repair or disposal.
The Supervisor shall provide or ensure that each employee who is required to use personal protective equipment receives training. Personal protective equipment training must include at least the following components:
EH&S Personal Protective Equipment training is available on MyPath and is the preferred method for general training. Additionally, area / task specific training must be provided at the local department level. The local training should concentrate on the specific PPE used in that work area (when to use, where stored, how to replace, etc.)
Before performing work requiring the use of PPE, each affected employee must demonstrate understanding of the training described above, as well as the ability to properly use the PPE. Re-training/refresher training is required whenever:
The University provides required PPE at no cost to the employee (29CFR 1910.132). Exceptions will be evaluated on an individual basis.
The University must pay for replacement PPE, except when the employee has lost or intentionally damaged the PPE.
An employer may allow an employee to “upgrade” or personalize their PPE beyond what the employer is required to purchase, as long as it doesn’t change its effectiveness. The employer is not required to pay for these upgrades if the employer provides adequate “basic” PPE.
PPE does not include common hand tools. Some tools may have unique protective properties (electrically insulated handles). These are "engineering" controls rather than PPE.
- Continue to the next section References and Revision History
QUESTIONS or COMMENTS?
Contact EH&S at (585) 275-3241 or e-mail EH&S Questions.
This page last updated 10/13/2023. Disclaimer.
