ISEA Announces Public Review for First Aid, Smoke Hood Standards

These revisions were drafted by ISEA Product Groups, and are circulated for expert consensus review and approval as American National Standards (ANSI standards). Any member of the public may submit comments during this review period.

ANSI/ISEA Z308.1, American National Standard – Minimum Requirements for Workplace First Aid Kits and Supplies, provides guidance for minimum performance levels of first aid kits for all types of uses and situations in the work environment. Kits in compliance with this standard will provide a basic range of products to deal with most types of injuries encountered in the workplace. Draft revisions for this standard include:

• Added language in the scope to provide additional end user guidance;
• The requirement that all first aid supplies (required and optional as called out in the standard) be free of natural latex rubber;
• An increase in the minimum volume of eye/face wash; and
• A reworked label to provide additional user guidance.

ANSI/ISEA 110, American National Standard for Air-Purifying Respiratory Protective Smoke Escape Devices, provides performance requirements and testing procedures for devices intended for use by persons escaping from fire-generated products of combustion, commonly known as “smoke hoods.” Draft revisions for this standard include:

• The inclusion of a bending movement for the total inward leakage test;
• A change in leakage pass/fail criteria and testing to accommodate products that already have water/moisture as part of their design;
• A clarification of the breathing machine testing equipment to be used for particular tests; and
• Tolerance allowances for equipment to allow labs to better conduct testing.

ISEA must receive public comments by March 2, 2009. Visit http://www.safetyequipment.org/stdreview.htm for more information.