Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Norms - Real Decreto 773/1997 PDF

# Real Decreto 773/1997 El Real Decreto 773/1997, de 30 de mayo, sobre las disposiciones mínimas de seguridad y salud relativas a la utilización por los trabajadores define equipo de protección individual como "cualquier equipo destinado a ser llevado o sujetado por el trabajador para que lo protej...

# Real Decreto 773/1997 El Real Decreto 773/1997, de 30 de mayo, sobre las disposiciones mínimas de seguridad y salud relativas a la utilización por los trabajadores define equipo de protección individual como "cualquier equipo destinado a ser llevado o sujetado por el trabajador para que lo proteja de uno o más riesgos que puedan amenazar su seguridad y/o su salud, así como cualquier complemento destinado al mismo fin". ## Excluded * Ropa de trabajo corriente and uniforms * Equipment specifically made for the armed forces and public order forces * Equipment used by rescue and salvage services * Personal individual protection equipment used by military, police and maintenance personnel * Personal individual protection equipment used by road transport * Sports equipment * Self-defense equipment against attackers * Equipment for the protection or saving of people on board ships or aircraft * Helmets and visors for users of two or three-wheeled motor vehicles * Self-defense or dissuasive equipment * Portable devices for the detection or signaling of risks and nuisance factors * Personal Protection Equipment designed and manufactured for personal use against atmospheric conditions: humidity, water, heat. ## INSHT Documents INSHT has published a guide document for each group of personal protective equipment: respiratory, ocular, auditory, helmets, falls, clothing, gloves and footwear. ## Document Structure The documents are structured under the following sections: * "Purpose" * "Scope of Application" * "List of Applicable Regulations" * "Terms and Definitions" * "Classification," "Types" or "Levels of Protection" of the family of personal protective equipment. ## Guide Structure Each guide is structured under the following sections: * "Selection" * "Use" * "Maintenance and Care of the Protective Personal Protective Equipment" ## Verifying PPP Efficacy **Biannual revision required** ## Definitions of Personal Protective Equipment Another definition can found found in Article 2 of Royal Decree 1407/1992, of 20 November: "any device or means that a person is going to wear or use, with the aim of protecting them against one or more risks that may threaten their health and safety." Also considered personal protective equipment * Sets formed by various devices or means that the manufacturer has combined in a solidary way to protect a person against one or more risks that they may face simultaneously. * A solidary protective device or means, in a separable or non-derogatory form, of non-protective individual equipment, which a person wears or uses with to carry out an activity. * Interchangeable components of a PPE that are essential for its correct functioning and are used exclusively for that PPE. * Any connection system marketed together with the PPE to connect it to an external complementary device, even when this connection system is not to be worn or at the user's disposal permanently during the time that the exposure to the risk or risks lasts. ## Annex II * **General Scope Requirements** (applicable to all PPE) * **Complementary Requirements** (common for each type of PPE) * **Specific Requirements** (depending on the risk) ## PPE Procedure The 4 procedures for evaluating the PPE will depend on the category of PPE: * In-house production control * "CE" type testing * Type conformity * Quality assurance of production ## "CE" Marking A formal declaration by the manufacturer that the product meets the requirements set out in Royal Decree 1407/1992. ## "CE" Type Testing The "CE" Type Test is a certificate issued by an independent inspection body that verifies and certifies that the type model of PPE meets the essential health and safety requirements set out in Royal Decree 1407/1992, of 20 November. Currently, it is required for PPE in categories II and III. ## PPE Categories * **Category I (Lower Risk)**: Sports equipment, simple gloves. * **Category II (Medium Risk)**: Eye protection, ear protection, UV filters. * **Category III (Mortal Risk)**: Respiratory protection, thermal protection, chemical protection. ## Category I PPE that, due to its simple design, the user can judge for themselves its effectiveness against minimal risks, and whose effects, when gradual, can be perceived in time and without danger to the user. This class of PPE can be manufactured without being subjected to CE type testing. * **Mechanical attacks with superficial effects:** gardening gloves, thimbles, etc. * **Maintenance products with low harmful effects:** protective gloves against diluted detergent solutions, etc. * **Small shocks and vibrations that do not affect vital parts of the body and that do not cause irreversible injuries:** light helmets for scalp protection gloves, light footwear, etc. * **Sun radiation:** sunglasses. * **Risks incurred during the handling of hot parts that do not expose the user to temperatures above 50 °C or to dangerous shocks:** gloves, professional aprons, etc. * **Atmospheric agents that are not exceptional or extreme:** hats, seasonal clothing, shoes and boots, etc. ## Category III PPE that are required to pass the CE type test and that require a system of final product CE quality assurance or a production quality assurance system with surveillance. * Respiratory filter equipment that protects against solid and liquid aerosols or against irritant, dangerous, toxic or radiotoxic gases. * Completely insulating respiratory protective equipment from the atmosphere, including those intended for immersion. * PPE that only provides limited protection over time against chemical attacks or against ionizing radiation. * Intervention equipment in hot environments, whose effects are comparable to those of an ambient temperature equal to or greater than 100 °C, with or without infrared radiation, flames or large projections of materials in fusion. * Intervention equipment in cold environments, whose effects are comparable to those of an ambient temperature equal to or less than -5 °C. * PPE intended to protect against falls from a specific height. * PPE intended to protect against electrical risks, for work carried out under hazardous voltages or those that are used as high-voltage insulators.