Section 3: Safety Practices

Glossary

Lesson 6: Personal Protective Equipment



Hazards are difficult to eliminate. Sometimes reducing them is possible. Very often, workers must resort to wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) . In fact, the law requires special equipment in many situations, such as life jackets in boats and hard hats on construction sites.

Personal protective equipment includes goggles, hard hats, hard-toe boots, gloves, ear muffs, respirators, and lifelines. These items are meant to protect your eyes, head, feet, hands, ears, and respiratory system, as well as protect you from falls.


It is important to realize that personal protective equipment is considered to be a measure of last resort. It is used after everything else has been tried to reduce or eliminate hazards.

About half of worksite injuries involve the head, eyes, feet, hands, and face. If personal protective equipment had been used in these instances, the injury could have been reduced or avoided in most cases.
The following table summarizes personal protective equipment that is pertinent to plant growing operations, whether they be in your yard, in a greenhouse, or on a farm:

Personal Protective Equipment for Plant Growing Operations

Type  Purpose  Example of Use
Eye Protection
Goggles
Reduce chance of things entering the eye
Pruning trees, dusty environments on the farm
Shields
Protects eyes form sharp flying objects
Grinding tree stumps, cutting lumber
Masks/helmets
Protects eyes from large objects and dangerous forms of light
Logging, welding, maintaining farm buildings
Full face respirators
Protect eyes from harmful chemicals
Preparing dangerous volatile farm chemicals
Head Protection
Hard hats Protect head from falling objects or from walking into objects Constructing farm/greenhouse building, working around or with large machinery
Helmets Protect head from impact injury (e.g., falling from an ATV or a horse) A large variety of farm transportation needs and utility activities
Foot, Hand, and Body Protection
Boots with steel toes and shanks Protect feet from objects falling on or piercing them Constructing farm buildings, corrals, etc., using large tools or farm implements 
Gloves Protect hands from rough objects, chemicals, and electrical hazards Constructing, working with hazardous chemicals, doing metal work, drilling
Leggings Protect legs from sharp or rough materials Pruning large tree branches, working with hay bales
Aprons Protect body from flying objects, chemicals and other pathogens Working with hazardous farm chemicals, welding
Body suits Protect body corrosive chemicals and other hazardous materials Working with lime pits, welding, cleaning up fungi and molds
Hearing Protection
Ear muffs or plugs Protect ears from noises that could harm hearing 
Driving or running machinery, caring for lawns, using a chain saw
Respiratory/Breathing Protection
Air purifying respirators Filter air and other materials entering the lungs Caring for lawns, working in grain bins
Air supplying respirators Supplies air so workers can breathe clean, non-toxic air Working in tanks or on manure piles that produce poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas
Fall Protection
Safety belts and harnesses Protect worker from falling Climbing stacks or tanks (e.g., hay stacks, granaries, and silos), pruning large trees
 Lifelines Protect worker from falling, ensuring safety in confined spaces Working on roofs of farm buildings, working in various types of tanks


  Can you find 7 safety concerns in this picture?                                                                        Check your answers with the answers below.


Eye protection: The man needs goggles to protect his eyes from branches and saw dust created by the saw.
Head protection: A hard hat or helmet would help. If he bumps his head, he could easily fall off the roof!
Foot, hand, body protection: Gloves, steel-toed boots, and leggings would be in order. A large branch that's been sawed off could easily fall on his toes, etc.
Hearing protection: Ear muffs or plugs should be used when operating a noisy motorized chain saw.
Respiratory/breathing protection: At least a mask should be used to avoid inhaling saw dust.
Fall protection: A harness or rope lifeline should be used. Imagine how easily he could slip off the roof. A tumble could also be caused by bumping of his head, or jarring caused by a jammed chain on the saw.
Miscellaneous: Is that a cigarette in his mouth? Does a motorized chain saw use gasoline? Oops! Do you think this guy is brave or just plain foolish?