PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

Fatalities and injuries among the nation’s workers are substantially reduced with the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and technologies. It is estimated that 20 million workers use PPE on a regular basis to protect them from job hazards. PPE protects workers from death and disabling injuries and illnesses as well as protecting from the specific threats of exposures to certain airborne biological particles, chemical agents, splashes, noise exposures, fall hazards, head hazards, and fires. Improvements and changes in the personal protective technologies are realized in the form of standards and regulations, revisions and alterations to existing standards, subsequent availability of PPE complying with the standards and regulations, and demonstrations of PPE use by the workers.