3.6 PPE for Feet
Stephanie Oostman
Boots
Sneakers and street shoes are not sufficiently safe footwear for welding shops and work sites. Appropriate work shoe should be leather or another approved site material. They might also need to have a safety or composite toe to prevent impact injuries. When welding, ensure that your pants cover the top of the boot to prevent sparks and debris from falling down into the shoe. Pant legs should never be cuffed around the boot, as sparks could fall and catch in the crease pocket.
Toe Protectors
Toe protectors like leather spats are designed to cover the gaps and spaces in work shoes and boots where molten steel and slag can drip and get caught. These are often draped or tied over the boot laces where sparks are more of a safety risk to the welder. The use of leather spats can also protect the boot laces and the threads used to stitch the boots together from melting.
Attributions
- Figure 3.14: image released under the Pixabay License