Safety Equipment Institute

The Safety Equipment Institute (SEI), a private nonprofit organization established in 1981, administers nongovernmental, third-party certifications of a broad range of safety equipment and products. SEI certification is voluntary and available to any mannfactnrer of safety and protective equipment. Certifications include ongoing product testing and quality assurance audits. SEI conducts product testing in accordance with consensus, governmental, or other standards. 

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A few of these devices rely on air contact with the tube through diffusion, and thus operate passively. Tubes used with battery-operated pump or those that sample the air through diffusion are used to determine time-weighed average concentrations of the workplace air contaminant of interest, while all the tubes used with a hand-operated vacuum pump are intended for measuring more or less instantaneous concentrations. The Safety Equipment Institute (USA) currently certifies chemical indicator tubes based on American National Standards Institute/In-ternational Safety Equipment Association standard 102 (1996). 

The Safety Equipment Institute (SEI) offers testing and certification services for a wide range of personal protective equipment. 

ANSI has several standards for design, performance, use, and certification of personal protective equipment. SAE has standards for seat belts in various vehicles. Other organizations, such as the American Society of Safety Engineers, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, the Safety Equipment Institute and the International Safety Equipment Association participate in the development of voluntary standards. 

Certification The buyer or user of personal protective equipment cannot always tell if purchased items meet published standards. There are certification programs for some equipment. NIOSH certifies the performance of some respirators. The Safety Equipment Institute is a not-for-profit organization that tests and certifies a broad range of industrial safety products, including personal protective equipment. Its certification is voluntary for manufacturers of products. 

ISEA 102 standard is used by the Safety Equipment Institute (SEI) as the basis for its gas detector tube certification program. 

Note Safety Equipment Institute (http //www.seinet.org) and Underwriters Laboratories (http //www.ul.com) maintain a list of products completed certification testing based on NFPA requirements. 

Although chlorine is a hazardous substance, it can he handled safely. All persons who handle chlorine should he thoroughly trained in its properties, in correct use of safety equipment, and in the nperulion ol all other equipment including containers. The Chlorine Institute. 342 Madison Ave.. New York. NY 10017. publishes Ihe Chlorine Manual (available from the Insli-(ule at nominal cost) which provides useful information on these matters. In addition the Chlorine Institute has designed emergency kits capable of capping off certain types of leaks which can occur in chlorine containers. 

Health and safety law requires institutions to provide a working environment that is safe and without risk to health. Where appropriate, training and information on safe working practices must be provided. Students and staff must take reasonable care to ensure the health and safety of themselves and of others, and must not misuse any safety equipment. 

All laboratories must have a written plan—the Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP)— which describes the provisions that have been made for safety by the laboratory managers. This requirement is regulated by OSHA under standard 29 CFR 1910.1450, Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories. The CHP sets out the specific procedures, work practices, safety equipment and personal protective equipment that have been selected to provide employee protection for the hazards found in each laboratory. An individual university or college laboratory will follow the CHP of the institution, which applies to all laboratories on campus the laboratory may also have a CHP that is specific to its individual conditions. College students should follow the provisions of the applicable CHP to ensure their safety. The CHP must include ... 

Guidelines for Process Equipment Reliability Data. Center for Chemical Process Safety, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1989. 

Another option is to have the organization s environmental health and safety staff conduct inspections. In a smaller organization, these types of inspections may adequately address the ILCI frequency recommendations. In larger institutions, the safety staff may be limited to semiannual or even annual walk-throughs. A more practical use of safety staff for inspections may be to target certain operations or experiments. Or the safety staff could focus on a particular type of inspection, such as safety equipment and systems. Finally, they could perform "audits" to check the work of other inspectors or look specifically at previous problem areas. It is important for the safety staff to address noted deficiencies with appropriate reminders and/ or additional training. Punitive measures should be employed, but only for chronic offenders or deliberate problems that pose a serious potential hazard. 

A voluntary industry consensus standard, developed by the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) in 1999, that specifies the requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE) that is capable of visually signaling the user s presence. Eor a garment to be labeled American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Class 1, 2, 3, or E it is required to first be ANSI/ISEA 107 certified. This certification requires many tests by an accredited laboratory to make sure that the garment lives up to the requirements of the standard. Some tests/requirements include ... 

Most OSHA standards require firms install specific types of safety equipment or institute specific safety programs. Besides specification standards OSHA also uses performance standards to set maximum levels of exposure to particular hazards. Both specification and performance standards impose considerable financial burdens on firms. The National Association of Manufacturers calculated OSHA standards cost about 103,000 (1993 dollars) for an average firm with 1-100 employees and 1,026,000 for an average firm with 501-1,000 employees (Smith 1976). Within certain industries the costs are even larger. The 1978 cotton dust standard, for instance, increased operating expenses in the textile mill products industry by more than 50 million per year (Viscusi 1992). Clearly, only if regulations are backed by financial penalties for noncompliance will firms install the safety equipment or institute the safety programs dictated by OSHA. 

In total, the econometric evidence summarized in Table 2-1 suggests a positive but modest impact of OSHA enforcement activities on workplace safety. Although inspections resulting in penalties produced marked improvements in safety, only a third of all inspections result in fines and few firms are ever inspected. With a 10 percent inspection rate, OSHA abatement efforts reduced total injuries by less than 1 percent per year. Injuries may have been further reduced because the threat of inspections and fines encouraged firms not yet inspected to install additional safety equipment or institute new safety programs. Based on Viscusi s (1986a) work the deterrence effect of OSHA lowered injuries by another 1.5-3.6 percent. At most, then, the econometric evidence shows OSHA having reduced injuries by 5 percent. 

Perhaps the best place to begin in choosing appropriate hand protection is the American National Standard for Hand Protection Selection Criteria. It was developed by the American National Standards Institute and the International Safety Equipment Association. The standard addresses the classification and testing of hand protection for specific performance properties related to chemical and industrial applications. 

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z89.1-2003, American National Standard for Industrial Head Protection IBR approved for 1926.100(b)(1)(ii). Copies of ANSI Z89.1-2003 are available for purchase only from the International Safety Equipment Association, 1901 North Moore Street, Arlington, VA 22209- 1762 telephone 703-525-1695 fax 703-528-2148 Web site www.safetyequipment.org. 

American National Standards Institute—Publishes consensus standards on a wide variety of subjects, including safety equipment, procedures, etc. 

Institute an administrative procedure, such as the management-of-change system or the use of work permits, for jumpering or bypassing critical safety equipment. 

OSHA standard (29 CFR 1910.151) requires employers to provide suitable facilities for quick drenching of the eyes and body for individuals exposed to corrosive materials. OSHA does not specify minimum operating requirements or installation setup requirements. American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standard Z358.1 underwent revision in 2009, led by the efforts of the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA). Approved by ANSI, the standard became known as ANSI/ISEA Z358.1-2009. Organizations should ensure flushing fluids remain clear and free from foreign particles. 

Minimum requirements and recommendations for worksite first-aid kits are sununarized on the American National Standards Institute/Intemational Safety Equipment Association Z308.1-2009 label. Each required and recommended item must meet performance requirements stated in the ANSI standard for the kit to be OSHA-compliant. Copies of the standard can be purchased from the ISEA at www.safetyequipment.org. 

These two studies are by Patrick S. McCarthy Seat Belt Usage Rates A Test of Peltzman s Hypothesis Accident Analysis and Prevention 18 (October 1986) 425-438 and Clifford Winston and Associates Blind Intersection Policy and the Automobile Industry (Washington, D.C. Brookings Institution, 1987). For preliminary multilogit analysis results of the 1983 NPTS data, see Blomquist Motorist Use of Safety Equipment. ... 

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