Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

The information provided in the Glove Selection Guide table is a generalization about the performance of each glove material. 

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) appropriate for the work conditions must be worn when working with laboratory hazards. At minimum this must include:

• Laboratory coats (or other protective clothing such as aprons, scrubs, coveralls, etc.) 
• Safety glasses or splash goggles
• Gloves appropriate to the hazard
• Fully enclosed footwear (no sandals, flip-flops or ballet shoes)

A documented hazard assessment should be used to determine additional/appropriate PPE for your work. Visit the FAQ section on the Standard Operating Procedures page for more information about completing a hazard assessment.

Hearing conservation is an important objective in overall employee health at Iowa State University. The major goal is to reduce continuous noise levels below a Time Weighted Average (TWA) of 90 decibels through the implementation of reasonably feasible engineering and administrative controls. Visit our Noise and Hearing Protection page to learn more about your options at Iowa State University.

Departments may choose to provide safety glasses that fit over an employee’s prescription eyewear as an alternative to purchasing prescription safety glasses. Central Stores and several vendors on CyBuy offer suitable "over-the-glasses” (OTG) safety eyewear.

The university's PPE policy

As outlined in the ISU PPE Policy:

1. Departments shall provide employees with adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) where necessary.
2. Departments shall determine and document what constitutes adequate PPE through a completed job hazard assessment.
3. Adequate PPE shall be provided to employees at no cost, including replacement resulting from regular use.

Departments will establish spending limits and determine replacement frequency based on budgetary constraints. Supervisors are responsible for verifying that PPE conforms to ISU specifications. For more details, refer to the ISU Personal Protective Equipment Policy.

Vendors

Below is a list of vendors from which prescription safety eyewear can be purchased. The vendors' product lines meet OSHA and ANSI Z87.1 standards for safety eyewear. The list is not an endorsement and is provided in no particular order. Most vendors offer easy prescription upload and purchases with credit card payment. Orders generally ship within 7-10 days unless a specialized prescription is required.

• OcuSafe.com – Online vendor.
• RX-Safety.com – Online vendor.
• GlassesUSA.com – Online vendor.
• Zenni.com – Online vendor.
• Bridgemart.com – Obtain a digital purchase card, then visit a Walmart Optical to select frames and order.

The OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard requires medical evaluation, fit testing, and training for individuals who intend to wear respiratory protection.  Iowa State University employees required to wear respiratory protection according to their job description or research protocol must participate in the ISU Respiratory Protection Program. Visit the Respirators page to learn more about using respiratory protection for your work.

OSHA considers disposable, filtering facepieces (N95, dust masks) to be respirators, and their use is regulated. Employees whose job description requires them to wear respiratory protection must participate in the ISU Respiratory Protection Program. Refer to the ISU Respiratory Protection Manual (PDF) for program details.

Employees who voluntarily use these devices for purposes that are not part of job requirements do not need to participate when the following conditions are true:

• Exposure to airborne contaminants is below OSHA permissible exposure limits (PELs)
• Exposure is only to non-toxic nuisance materials 
• A procedure or research protocol does not require use
• Respirators are not worn to reduce exposure to gases or vapors

Voluntary users must follow the use, storage, and disposal guidelines on the Respirators page.