How to choose your arc flash protective clothing

Choose Your Arc Flash Clothing In Three Easy Steps

The intense energy and very short duration of an electrical arc flash represents a very unique exposure. Complying with NFPA 70E and following these three steps will greatly reduce your chances of injury due to electrical arc flash.

1.Conduct Both a Shock and Flash Hazard Analysis

A hazard analysis is required to determine the flash protection boundary
Inside the flash protective boundary,exposure to an electrical arc is predicted to cause a second degree burn injury and PPE is required
Required FR clothing is based on the specific hazard present
The severity of the arc hazard is defined as incident energy in calories per centimeters squared (cal/cm2),which may be determined by three methods:
Method A – Estimates the incident energy based on knowledge of the electrical systems and work practices
Method B – Estimates the incident energy by determining hazard risk category classifications from tables of common work tasks
Method C – Lays out a simplified two-category FR clothing system that provides two PPE clothing categories: everyday work clothing and electrical switching clothing. This concept helps assure adequate PPE in facilities with large or diverse electrical systems.

2.Determine PPE Clothing Needs Based on the Degree of Hazard

Hazard/ Risk Category	Clothing Description	Required Minimum Arc Rating of PPE
0	Non-melting, flammable materials (untreated cotton, wool, rayon, silk or blends) with a fabric weight of at least 4.5 ounces/yard2
1	FR shirt and FR pants, or FR coveralls	6-8 cal/cm2
2	Cotton underwear, conventional short sleeve shirt and briefs/shorts, plus FR shirt and FR pants, or FR coveralls	8-25 cal/cm2
3	Cotton underwear, plus FR shirt and FR pants, plus FR coveralls	25-40 cal/cm2
4	Cotton underwear, plus FR shirt and FR pants, plus multi-layered flash suit	40+ cal/cm2

3.Select Protective Arc flash and Flame Resistant Clothing and Coveralls

Garments are rated based on their ability to protect against electrical arcs
This arc rating is expressed in cal/cm
The standard requires that garments have a minimum arc rating listed on the garment label
The protective clothing worn by employees must be based upon the incident energy associated with the task being performed
Be aware that other PPE may be required for specific tasks including: double-layer FR flash hoods, hard hats, FR hard hat liners, safety eyewear, hearing protection, leather gloves, voltage rated gloves and voltage-rated tools

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