Protective Clothing & Equipment

At the beginning of this section, you learned that there are three main aspects of protecting workers: implementing engineering controls, practicing proper hygiene and housekeeping, and providing protective clothing and equipment. You have just learned about the first two aspects in detail; you will now learn about the third, protective clothing and equipment.

Employers must provide workers with protective clothing and equipment if the workers are exposed to lead above the PEL (or if workers might be exposed to situations that pose skin or eye irritation). Equipment and clothing must be clean, dry, and appropriate for the hazard.

The frequency of when clothing is issued (daily or weekly) depends on the level of lead exposure.

• Clothing must be issued daily for employees whose exposure levels to lead are above 200 µg/m³.
• Clothing must be issued weekly if exposures are above the PEL but at or below 200 µg/m³.
• Clothing must also be issued weekly if there is the possibility of skin or eye irritation during activities or on the job site.

To learn more about Construction Lead Safety visit our Construction Lead Safety Online Training Certification web page.