Look for the Arc Rating Label
When buying PPE clothing for electrical workers, OSHA, NFPA 70E and ANSI C2 (NESC) all agree: you should look for the AR (Arc Rating) label.
Most of the industry turns to the national consensus standards such as ANSI/IEEE’s National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) or NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace. Both of these standards cover electric utility work and other general industry electrical work, respectively.
NFPA 70E began to “re-frame” the terminology to get people to ask for AR rather than FR (flame-resistant) clothing in 2012.
The reason for this change is that FR doesn’t have any standards which apply to any particular hazard. FR traditionally was believed to be generically protective from flame at some level. But this is actually untrue of some fabrics.
Keep Reading
Read more about the importance of checking for the AR clothing label and which standards to be aware of by clicking here or going to our website Learning Center, “Learn by Topic.”
Another blog on arc-rated clothing is “What’s Up With the Labeling on Arc-Rated Clothing?”
