ESD: safety shoes

Footwear is a fundamental part of PPE to ensure worker safety. Protection does not only consist in protecting the worker's feet from shocks and falling objects, it is also necessary to protect him against various accidents, including electric shocks which are less obvious to detect when it is static electricity.

Basic notions on ESD - Certification / Standard / Protection

The electrostatic discharge defined by the acronym ESD is the passage of electric current between two objects with different electric potentials over a very short time. It is the transfer of charges between objects having different electrostatic potentials. The cause may be friction or, on the contrary, the separation of electrical charges after a contact time. It should, in fact, be known that the break in contact between two bodies generates a charge and at the same time creates an electrical potential difference which then leads to an ESD event.

ESD can be defined as unwanted fugitive currents that can damage electronic equipment unless it is in an ESD area. This is a place where there is a total absence of electrical charge because all the materials used are conductive.

ESD and electrical worker safety

Electrostatic discharge protection is most common in the electronics industry. A single movement can, in fact, generate a load of 10,000 V, which is fatal for electrical circuits and components when the current is discharged on these components; not to mention the dangers to which the worker is exposed. Hence the need to create EPA zones (Electrostatic Protected Area) where there is no risk of the circuit receiving a discharge from its environment or discharging itself into an element.

Before entering this area, the worker must wear ESD shoes as well as an overall and a bracelet, both of which are conductive. He must test the conductivity of his body, between his finger and the ground. The resistance should not be less than 1 or more than 10 megohms.

ESD: safety footwear - ESD PPE and ergonomics

The ESD safety shoes, in addition to the protection they offer, are designed for worker comfort and freedom of movement. Their electrical resistance is very low and is between 0.1 and 100 MΩ. To qualify as ESD shoes, safety shoes must obtain ESD certification. Find our ranges on Oxwork.com