Person Protective Equipment

Personal protective equipment items are issued by the City for your protection. You cannot perform your duties without the proper tools--these tools include personal protective equipment.

The employee shall turn-in any piece of Personal Protective Equipment to their supervisor when the equipment is damaged, destroyed, defective, or worn out. The supervisor shall provide a replacement.

Employees reporting for work must have their assigned personal protective equipment with them. Failure to wear the issued personal protective equipment on the job will result in immediate suspension, without pay, until the employee provides said equipment.

1. FOOT PROTECTION:

In certain departments the wearing of safety shoes by every employee is mandatory. The City provided safety shoe shall be equipped with a special metal toe plate and may contain a metal sole plate and, when required, an instep guard.

All safety shoes must meet the specifications of ANSI standard Z41-1976.

2. HAND PROTECTION:

Employees must wear appropriate gloves when:

* Picking up bulk trash

* Clearing brush and weeds

* Cutting grass

* Trenching

* Paving

* Installing signs and sign posts

* Handling lumber

* Any other job where there is danger of cuts or scrapes

* Using chemicals and solvents

* Exposed to bodily fluids

Gloves will be issued by the department when required.

3. PROTECTIVE CLOTHING:

Protective clothing must be worn by all employees when warranted by the hazardous conditions of the job. This includes, but is not limited to, protection for the skin, hands, arms and legs, especially when handling chemicals, hot tar, or hot liquids, or when working in areas suspected of having poison ivy or poison oak.

Protective clothing may range from a department requirement to wear long sleeve shirts and trousers to specific chemical protective garments. Specialized protective clothing will be issued by the department when required.

Defective, City issued clothing, including gloves, must be turned in to the supervisor for replacement.

4. EYE PROTECTION:

Employees working in an area where potentially harmful particles (i.e., grass, weeds, wood chips, grindings, shavings, dirt, dust, chemicals, etc.) may be in the air, are required to wear appropriate eye protection, which may include a full face shield, safety goggles or safety glasses.

* An eyewash device, either portable or stationary, shall be provided where necessary, to allow for maximum employee protection.

All eye protection must meet the specifications of ANSI standard Z87.1.

5. HEARING PROTECTION:

OSHA, NIOSH and the Environmental Protection Agency, consider a continuous exposure to a sound level over 85 decibels as potentially damaging to an individual's hearing.

However, short term excessive noise, present for any period of time, can also cause hearing impairment. Therefore, it is the policy of the City of St. Louis that employees are required to wear an ear protection device when potentially exposed to increased sound levels. If in doubt, wear an approved hearing protective device, either ear plugs or ear muffs.

6. HEAD PROTECTION:

A "hard hat" area shall be designated whenever there is a potential that an employee may be struck on or about the head, by any object, from either above or from the side.

All personnel required to enter into a designated "hard hat" area shall wear an approved hard hat.

The hard hat must be equipped with, but not be limited to the following:

1. Non-conductive Material

2. Suspension System

3. Adjustable Head Band

4. Proper "Impact" Material Construction

Hard hats are issued by the department and become the responsibility of the employee. An employee is not allowed on any job designated as a hard hat job without wearing their hard hat.

* Defective hard hats must be turned in immediately for replacement.

All hard hats must meet the specifications of ANSI standard Z89.1 and Z89.2.

7. RESPIRATORY PROTECTION:

Toxic materials can enter the body in three ways; (1) though the gastrointestinal tract, (2) through the skin, and (3) through the lungs. Of these three modes of entry, the human respiratory system presents the quickest and most direct avenue of entry, because of its intimate association with the circulatory system, and the constant need to oxygenate the tissue cells to sustain life processes.

Where feasible, the City of St. Louis will apply engineering measures to control employee exposure to respiratory hazards. However, in areas where effective controls are not feasible, or while they are being instituted, appropriate respirators shall be used by employees.

The most common Class respirators issued by the City are either of the air-purifying or air-supply type.

It is the employees responsibility to determine if the issued respirator is of the proper Class for the expected hazard exposure, and that the proper particulate, vapor, or chemical cartridge, is installed on air-purifying respirators.

All respirators must meet the specification of the ANSI standard which pertains to the hazard.