5.1 PPE Hazard Assessment & Selection (29 CFR 1910.132)

5.1 PPE Hazard Assessment & Selection (29 CFR 1910.132)

Introduction to General Requirements

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in General Industry are codified in 29 CFR Part 1910, Subpart I. The foundational regulation in this subpart is 29 CFR 1910.132, which establishes the general requirements for all PPE. This standard outlines the legal responsibilities of the employer, the process of conducting a formal hazard assessment, the rules surrounding payment for protective gear, and how PPE fits into the broader safety philosophy known as the Hierarchy of Controls.

Under 29 CFR 1910.132(a), employers are legally obligated to provide, maintain in a sanitary and reliable condition, and require the use of appropriate personal protective equipment. This duty extends to eye, face, head, and extremity protection, protective clothing, respiratory devices, and protective shields and barriers. The standard applies to all hazards encountered in the workplace, including chemical hazards, radiological hazards, biological hazards, electrical hazards, mechanical hazards, and environmental hazards.

Paragraph 29 CFR 1910.132(b) addresses employee-owned equipment. If employees choose to provide their own protective equipment, the employer remains responsible for assuring its adequacy, including proper maintenance, sanitation, and compliance with the relevant consensus standards. An employer cannot escape responsibility or liability by allowing workers to bring their own gear; the employer must inspect, approve, and maintain all employee-provided PPE.

Workplace Hazard Assessment & Certification

One of the most critical compliance requirements in Subpart I is found in 29 CFR 1910.132(d), which outlines the Hazard Assessment and Equipment Selection mandate. The employer is required to assess the workplace to determine if hazards are present, or are likely to be present, which necessitate the use of PPE. If such hazards are present or likely, the employer must select the types of PPE that will protect the affected employees, communicate selection decisions to each affected employee, and select PPE that properly fits each affected employee.

The employer must verify that the required workplace hazard assessment has been performed through a written certification. This is not a casual observation; it is a formal, legally binding document. OSHA compliance officers frequently request this document during inspections, and failure to produce it is a common citation. The written certification must contain four specific, non-negotiable elements:

1. Identification of the specific workplace or department evaluated.
2. The name of the person certifying that the evaluation has been performed.
3. The exact date(s) that the hazard assessment was conducted.
4. An explicit statement identifying the document as a certification of hazard assessment.

During a hazard assessment, the employer must conduct a walkthrough of the facility and identify sources of hazards, such as impact (falling objects or potential for collision), penetration (sharp objects piercing the skin), compression (roll-over or crushing), chemical exposures (splashing, vapors, or skin absorption), temperature extremes, harmful dusts, light radiation (such as welding, cutting, brazing, or lasers), and biological hazards. The employer must review injury logs, chemical inventories, and Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) to ensure no hidden hazards are overlooked.

PPE Selection, Training, and Retraining

Once hazards are identified, the employer must select PPE that is appropriate for the specific hazard and ensure that it fits the employee properly. Improperly fitting PPE—such as gloves that are too large or a safety harness that is too loose—can create additional hazards or fail to provide the designed protection.

Following selection, the employer must provide comprehensive training to every employee who is required to use PPE. According to 29 CFR 1910.132(f), this training must cover five core areas:

1. When PPE is necessary.
2. What PPE is necessary.
3. How to properly don (put on), doff (take off), adjust, and wear the PPE.
4. The limitations of the PPE (e.g., a specific glove's breakthrough time or a respirator's assigned protection factor).
5. The proper care, maintenance, useful life, and disposal of the PPE.

The employer must verify that each employee has received and understood this training through a written certification that contains the employee's name, the date(s) of training, and the subject of the certification. If the employer has reason to believe that an employee who has already received training does not possess the required understanding or skill, the employer must retrain that employee. Circumstances that trigger retraining include changes in the workplace that render previous training obsolete, changes in the types of PPE to be used, or inadequacies in an employee's knowledge or use of assigned PPE.

Employer Payment for PPE

Historically, disputes arose regarding whether employers or employees were responsible for purchasing PPE. In November 2007, OSHA published a final rule clarifying that employers must pay for the personal protective equipment used to comply with OSHA standards. Codified in 29 CFR 1910.132(h), the general rule is that the protective equipment required by OSHA standards must be provided by the employer at no cost to the employee.

However, there are specific, narrow exceptions to this rule. Employers are not required to pay for:

• Non-specialty safety-toe protective footwear (such as standard steel-toe leather boots) and non-specialty prescription safety eyewear, provided that the employer permits such items to be worn off the job-site. If the employer requires that these items remain at the facility or job-site at all times, the employer must pay for them.
• Everyday work clothing, such as long-sleeve shirts, long pants, street shoes, and standard work boots.
• Everyday clothing, skin creams, or other items used solely for protection from weather, such as winter coats, parkas, rain gear, gloves, and sunscreen.
• Replacement PPE if the employee has lost or intentionally damaged the equipment. In cases where PPE is worn out through normal wear and tear on the job, the employer must pay for the replacement.

The Hierarchy of Controls

It is a fundamental principle of occupational hygiene and safety that PPE is the least effective method of hazard control and must only be used as a last resort. The Hierarchy of Controls, developed by NIOSH and enforced by OSHA, prioritizes hazard control methods from most effective to least effective:

PPE is placed at the bottom of the hierarchy for several critical reasons. First, PPE does not eliminate the hazard; the hazard remains present in the environment. Second, PPE relies entirely on human behavior. If a worker fails to wear the PPE, wears it incorrectly, or if the PPE fails due to damage, wear, or improper selection, the worker is immediately exposed. Third, wearing PPE can cause physical discomfort, heat stress, and reduced mobility or visibility, which can introduce secondary hazards. Therefore, employers must exhaust all feasible engineering and administrative controls before relying on PPE. When higher-level controls are not fully feasible, PPE must be used in conjunction with them.