Why Safety Boots?

It is always a good idea to mind your toes, it doesn’t hurt to mind you fingers as well and to avoid possible optical injuries always watch your eyes. I tried explaining the concepts of health and safety to a two year old recently, ”watch your eyes pet” brought about a hilarious series of eye movements which reminded me a little of a chameleon. Seriously though, safety in the work environment should always be paramount as there is nothing funny about a thumb split up the sides like a burst tomato, or a 6″ nail sticking up through the top of a boot.

There are several different specifications for safety boots, the level of protection and exact specification of the boot is clearly labelled, the label is generally on the inside of the tongue( of the boot, not your own tongue).

To be classified as a safety boot the footwear must adhere to certain specifications. these specifications are set

EN 345-1:1992 – Safety footwear for professional use – Specification Superseded by EN ISO 20345:2004

Basic requirements – Safety footwear must have a 200J toecap.

Other properties: (may not all apply to some designs of footwear)

P – penetration resistance
C – conductive
A – antistatic
HI – insulating against heat
CI – insulating against cold
E – energy absorbing seat region
WRU – uppers resistant to water penetration / absorption
HRO – outsole resistant to hot contact Classification I – (made from leather and other materials, but not all-rubber or allpolymeric types)
SB – basic requirements for safety footwear met
S1 – basic requirements plus closed and energy absorbing seat region, and antistatic
S2 – as S1 plus water penetration and absorption
S3 – as S2 plus penetration resistance and cleated sole Classification II – (all-rubber or all-polymeric types)
S4 – basic requirements plus energy absorbing seat region, antistatic
S5 – as S4 plus penetration resistance and cleated sole EN 345-2:1996 – Safety footwear for professional use –
Additional specifications Superseded by EN ISO 20345, EN 17249 and EN 1509