Personal protective equipment (also known as labor protection supplies) is essential for safeguarding workers’ personal safety and occupational health. It plays a crucial role in ensuring protection against accidents and external injuries during the production process and other daily activities.
As of May 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation (the Standardization Administration of China) has published seven mandatory national standards on personal protective equipment. Four of these standards have already been implemented, namely:
- Specification for Personal Protective Equipment Part 1: General Principles
- Specification for Personal Protective Equipment Part 2: Oil, Chemical, and Natural Gas
- Specification for Personal Protective Equipment Part 3: Metallurgy, Non-Ferrous
- Specification for Personal Protective Equipment Part 4: Non-Coal Mines
The remaining three standards will come into effect on January 1, 2025, namely:
- Specification for Personal Protective Equipment Part 5: Building Materials
- Specification for Personal Protective Equipment Part 6: Power
- Specification for Personal Protective Equipment Part 7: Electronics
These standards define the general principles, procedures, management, and technical requirements for the provision and disposal of personal protective equipment. They focus on the safety production needs of high-risk key industries such as oil, chemical, natural gas, metallurgy, non-ferrous metals, non-coal mining, building materials, power, and electronics. The standards detail common operational scenarios involving flammable and explosive tasks, inhalable dust, confined spaces, high-altitude tasks, and electrical tasks, along with the potential hazards present in different industries and job types. Additionally, they specify the recommended maximum replacement intervals for personal protective equipment for various job types, aiming to ensure the health and safety of workers in key industries.
In November 2021, the Standardization Administration of China, in collaboration with the Ministry of Emergency Management, initiated a three-year special action plan to enhance the standardization of personal protective equipment. This initiative required the formulation and publication of a series of mandatory national standards for personal protective equipment. These seven standards have filled gaps in the standardization of personal protective equipment provision and management in China, providing technical guidance for enterprises to fully identify and assess workplace hazards, guiding various production and business units to legally equip workers with personal protective equipment, and support regulatory bodies in conducting safety production law enforcement inspections.
