Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

14.9.6 Personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment is to be used as a control 
measure only as a last resort. It does not eliminate the 
hazard and will present the wearer with the maximum 
health risk if the equipment fails. Successful use of per-
sonal protective equipment relies on good user training, 
the availability of the correct equipment at all times and 
good supervision and enforcement.
The ‘last resort’ rule applies in particular to respiratory 
protective equipment (RPE) within the context of hazardous 
Figure 14.10
Natural ventilation in a building.

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Chemical and biological health hazards and control
239
substances. There are some working conditions when 
RPE may be necessary:
➤
during maintenance operations
➤
as a result of a new assessment, perhaps following 
the introduction of a new substance
➤
during emergency situations, such as fi re or plant 
breakdown
➤
where alternatives are not technically feasible.
All personal protective equipment, except respiratory 
protection equipment (which is covered by specifi c 
Regulations, such as COSHH, lead, etc.) is controlled 
by its own set of regulations – the Personal Protective 
Equipment at Work Regulations. A detailed summary of 
these Regulations is given in Chapter 17 and needs to be 
studied in detail with this section. The principal require-
ments of these regulations are as follows:
➤
personal protective equipment which is suitable for 
the wearer and the task
➤
compatibility and effectiveness of the use of multiple 
personal protective equipment
➤
a risk assessment to determine the need and suit-
ability of proposed personal protective equipment
➤
a suitable maintenance programme for the personal 
protective equipment
➤
suitable accommodation for the storage of the per-
sonal protective equipment when not in use
➤
information, instruction and training for the user of 
personal protective equipment
➤
the supervision of the use of personal protective 
equipment by employees and a reporting system for 
defects.