MoD Health & Safety Handbook 

JSP 375 Vol 2 

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) 

15  PPE includes gloves, safety glasses, overalls, boots, etc. The choice of PPE will be dictated by the 

risk assessment including COSHH, but should meet the minimum requirements of covering all skin at 

risk of exposure with a material suitable to prevent the passage of the hazardous substance onto or into 

the skin. 

16  Gloves will be necessary in a variety of circumstances where soiling of the hands would otherwise 

be unavoidable and where there is a risk of physical injury to the hands. A wide range of gloves exists to 

satisfy most requirements where protection against biological, chemical, electrical, mechanical and 

thermal hazards is required. 

17  Managers must understand the nature of the exposure and select gloves and/or other protective 

clothing that provides adequate protection after consultation with a suitably qualified occupational health 

professional. This may require the stocking of several types of gloves and/or protective clothing. 

Managers should also be aware that the material used to make the gloves and/or protective clothing 

might cause dermatitis (natural rubber latex is an example of this). Workers must understand the types 

of skin hazards in the workplace and the proper gloves and/or protective clothing for each hazard. 

Workers also need to know how to inspect gloves and/or protective clothing for signs of contamination or 

excessive wear before each use and have clear advice detailing how PPE should be cleaned, stored 

and when it should be disposed of. There should be a clear policy on use of PPE and the consequences 

of not wearing appropriate protection under the specified conditions. 

HEALTH SURVEILLANCE 

18  Health surveillance may well be a statutory requirement consequent upon the risk or COSHH 

assessment and may, depending upon the nature of the hazard require periodic medical examination 

and tests e.g. of respiratory function (especially where respiratory sensitisers are in use), blood or urine.  

However, the health surveillance required solely in respect of the skin is simpler to effect as no more 

than a "skin check" is needed.  This does not require formal medical review and can be conducted by 

the personnel themselves and their immediate line managers, at least in respect of hands and forearms; 

self examination should be encouraged but does not absolve management from conducting or arranging 

for the surveillance (especially where other parts of the body may be exposed to a hazard or through 

cross contamination).  The following warning signs must be sought: 

18.1 

Progressive drying of the skin. 

18.2 

Maceration (white swollen skin following prolonged wetness or immersion). 

18.3 

Localised thickening of the skin, distinct from callous formation. 

18.4 Frequent 

trauma. 

18.5 

Redness of the skin, especially around hairs. 

18.6 

Other new and unusual signs such as new growths of skin or moles. 

19  Should one or more of these signs be present then the employee or line manager should arrange 

for an occupational health assessment, investigation and referral for treatment as necessary. The line 

manager, once alerted, should instigate checks on other workers and investigate working conditions, 

reassessing and revising the risk assessment including COSHH as necessary. 

BARRIER CREAMS 

20  The use of barrier creams as a method of preventing occupational dermatitis is 

not 

recommended

. Some creams applied before work are referred to as  barrier  creams and the suppliers 

may claim that they protect the skin from harmful chemicals. In practice such creams are not effective 

and provide a false sense of security. The use of these creams on skin that is already damaged may 

actually make things worse. 

Leaflet 5 Annex E 

April 2003 

 Page 

5