Change to EN149 simplified in downloadable booklet

The British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) has produced a new user guide to offer clear advice to respiratory protective equipment (RPE) users, specifiers and suppliers following a number of amendments to the standards for RPE earlier this year. In particular the guide focuses on the change to EN149 2001 which applies to disposable particulate respirators and will therefore affect many manufacturers, suppliers and users of RPE.

The changes have resulted following concerns about the use of electro-static attraction to enhance the filtering process in oily conditions. It was noted that RPE testing standards did not take account of products used in these conditions that are then reused after storage and it was believed that safety could be compromised if the information on the product is unclear or incomplete. A range of respiratory protection standards have therefore been adjusted to correct this problem replacing the former versions, which now no longer have a 'presumption of conformity' to the PPE Directive/Regulations.

As a consequence, the amendments resulted in the need to differentiate between disposable products which should be only be used once [non reusable] and disposable products that can be reused - subject to suitable cleaning [reusable].

The online booklet, which can be found at www.bsif.co.uk, outlines the changes and offers advice and key points that anyone with some involvement with RPE should be aware of.