Personal Protective Equipment

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are unique products as far as the user buying it buys protection encountered at home, work and leisure. Yearly statistics of mortal and major work accidents do impressively explain the importance of protection and prevention: personal health and safety are fundamental rights and people expect and require a high level protection at work, home and at leisure. The European Commission has been active in the pursuit of this ideal initiating a series of directives improving safety and health at work and providing for high quality PPE.
PPE Directive 89/686/EEC covers these products. It defines legal obligations ensuring that PPE on the European market gives the highest level of protection against hazards: the CE marking affixed to PPE signals that! As this is a "New Approach" Directive, manufacturers or their authorised representative in the European Union can comply with the technical requirements either directly, or by means of European Harmonised Standards, the latter providing a presumption of conformity to the essential health and safety requirements. See PPE standardization.
The free movement of goods, the cornerstone of the Single Market, applies for the CE marked PPE. Personal protection, however, has an additional economic dimension. Accidents at work and at home lead to work absences and high cost for the nationality security systems: Personal Protective Equipment is a low cost investment giving a high return.
The Directive details both Essential Health and Safety Requirements (EHSRs) for the PPE and the conformity assessment procedures, which for products protecting against more serious risk may require the intervention of a so-called "Notified Body". Notified Bodies are institutes appointed by the Member States and they have the mission to be at the service of the manufacturer wherever the Directive requests for third party intervention (EC type examination, approval and monitoring of quality assurance systems).
Guidance is provided to assist with its common application which, whilst having no weight in law, have been found very useful: see How to apply the Directive 89/686/EEC and the new PPE Guidelines .
The Directive is influenced by several actors, their interactivity is being visualised in the working structure: this provides a graphical representation as to how the different Committees are related. Contact points, including the delegates of Member States, Candidate Countries and EFTA Countries, as well as the main industrial associations and other useful addresses, are identified.
Links to the latest developments and activities in the international European policy are available here. Mutual Recognition Agreements and other acts might expand the influence of the Directive beyond the European Union territory.