Chapter 3: Personal Protective Equipment

A welder wearing a welding hood and coveralls uses GMAW
A Welder in a Hood and Coveralls / Photo Credit: Benfe, Pixabay License

Overview

Anytime you are around welding, you may be exposed to a variety of hazards. These could involve a burn on your arm, a spark in your ear, a piece of metal falling on your foot, or falling from a ladder.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is used to prevent these and other types of hazards from occurring. This equipment is used to protect against a number of issues related to your eyes, face, ears, hands, feet, lungs, and other parts of your body – even from falling.

This chapter will discuss common safety practices related to PPE you may use on the job. This is not intended to take the place of employer safety training required by law; rather, it is intended to emphasize the importance of following safe work practices at all times.

Objectives

After completing this chapter, students will be able to:

  • List and describe welding-specific personal protection equipment (PPE)
  • List and describe general Industry PPE
  • Explain why PPE is necessary

Key Terms

  • PPE
  • OSHA
  • ANSI
  • Flash Burn
  • NRR
  • NIOSH
  • SAR
  • PAPR (powered air purifying respirator) system

Attributions

  1. Chapter opening image: image released under the Pixabay License

License

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Introduction to Welding Copyright © by Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.