Personal protective equipment - Washington

Most of Washington’s requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE) are identical to the federal requirements; however, the state adds further requirements. A summary of the additional requirements includes the following:

• PPE should be used ONLY after all other reasonable hazard-reducing means have been used. Employers should take steps to identify and remove all hazards by, for example, considering other ways to perform hazardous jobs, reducing hazardous processes or materials, and/or applying engineering controls.
• Include in the written certification of the hazard assessment for PPE: the workplace name and address, name of person certifying the hazard assessment, the date of the assessment, and a statement identifying the document as the certification of hazard assessment for PPE.
• Provide necessary PPE at no cost to employees if the PPE would not normally or reasonably be worn outside of work (like disposable/single use equipment) or is required to protect employees from process, environmental, physical, chemical, radiological, or mechanical irritant hazards. See WAC 296-800-16020 for examples of PPE employers must provide.
• Employers may store their documentation of PPE training on a computer if it is available to the Washington Department of Labor and Industries.
• Ensure that protective equipment is durable, fits snugly, and does not unduly interfere with the wearer’s movements.
• Employees exposed to objects that puncture that could injure their eyes and/or face must use appropriate protection.
• Protective helmet requirements also apply to flying object hazards.
• Ensure that employees wear protective helmets when working around or under scaffolding or overhead structures.
• Ensure that employees wear caps or other type of head covering which completely covers the hair if they work around machinery or in locations which present a hair catching or fire hazards. Do not allow caps with metal buttons or metal visors to be worn around electrical hazards.
• Employees must wear hair nets when: hair is twice as long as the circumference of exposed revolving shafts or tools in fixed machines, or hair is as long as the radius of pressure rolls with exposed in-running nip points.
• Employees must wear a solid-material hair covering when exposed to an ignition source and the employee may, with hair aflame, run into an area containing class 1 flammable liquids (i.e., ether or benzene), or combustible atmospheres.
• Ensure that calks or other suitable anti-slip footwear are worn while working on top of logs.
• Refer to WAC 296-800-16070 for personal flotation device requirements that go beyond federal requirements.
• WAC 296-800-160 is missing most of the nonmandatory reference and compliance guidelines found in federal OSHA regulation 29 CFR 1910 Subpart I Appendices A and B.
• Refer to WAC 296-24-980(1) and (2) for electrical protective equipment requirements that go beyond federal requirements.
• Ensure that rubber gloves are only used on voltages of 5000 volts phase to phase or less.
• Where you do not guard switches or fuses of more than 150 volts to ground during ordinary operations, provide suitable insulating floors, mats or platforms for operators to stand on while handling the switches.

To ensure that you are in compliance with these requirements, click on the following links to view the state and federal regulations regarding PPE: