Portwest - Do You Know Booklet

DO YOU KNOW 20

WHAT IS EN 166?

EN166 is the core technical standard which applies to all safety eyewear including spectacles, goggles and visors. It does not apply to eye protection for which separate standards exist (anti-laser eye protection, sunglasses for general use).

+ 55 o C

Themain tests on this standard are: Optical Requirements and Mechanical Protection/Impact Resistance

- 5 o C

OPTIONAL REQUIREMENTS EN 166 also describes other optional tests whichmust be applied should the manufacturer wish tomake additional claims regarding protection. For example the Impact Resistance Against High Speed Spectacles At Extreme Temperature is conducted on spectacles/goggles and visors conditioned at extreme temperatures from -5°C / +55°C , resulting in similar markings as the above table, with a T denoting temperature: F T / B T / A T . Note : This does not apply to the S marking catergory.

2: MECHANICAL PROTECTION/IMPACT RESISTANCE This test (applicable to both lens and frame) determines the impact resistance of the eye protector (Spectacles, goggles or visors) to withstand ying objects without cracking or shattering. The test is performed with steel balls of di erent diameters and weights which are used to strike the lens and frame at di erent speeds as indicated in the table. This results in 4 levels of mechanical protection denoted by the markings;‘S’‘F’,‘B’or‘A’on the eye protector where‘ S ’is the lowest grade, o ering the least amount of protection and‘ A ’is the highest grade o eringmaximumprotection under the standard.

1: OPTICAL REQUIREMENTS Tests include, transmission and di usion of light, refractive properties, resistance to aging (stability to heat and resistance to UV), corrosion and ignition. Results of the testing de ne the Optical Class of the eye protector: which falls into 1 of 3 categories , where 1 is the highest and 3 is the lowest as indicated in the table. These categories de ne the quality of the lens in terms of howmuch or how little distortion is experienced by the wearer.

Tolerance Of The Optical Power

Optical Class

Application

Note: spectacles can only get a S or F marking, goggles can have a S, F or B whereas grade A is applicable to visors only.

OTHER OPTIONAL REQUIREMENTS and correspondingmarkings for EN166 are described in the table below.

± 0.06 Dioptres

1

Work all the Time (Distortion free)

MARKING TYPE OF PROTECTION TEST - Resistance against

Possible On

± 0.12 Dioptres

2

Work occasionally

3 CHEMICAL RISK

Liquids (droplets and splashes)

± 0.25 Dioptres

3

Work brie y

3 CHEMICAL RISK

Resistance to projections

4 CHEMICAL RISK

Coarse dust particles (particle with > 5µm grain size)

MARKING MECHANICAL PROTECTION

TESTS DETAILS

Possible On

Gas, vapours, mist, smoke and ne dust particles (with < 5µm grain size)

5 CHEMICAL RISK

22 mm diameter steel ball at a speed of 5,1 m/sec 6 mm diameter steel ball at a speed of 45 m/sec 6 mm diameter steel ball at a speed of 120 m/sec 6 mm diameter steel ball at a speed of 190 m/sec

S Minimal impact resistance

8 ELECTRICAL RISK

Short circuit arc resistance

9 THERMAL RISK

Molten Metal splashes and Hot solids projections

F Low energy impact

Resistance to surface damage by ne particles (anti-scratch treatment)

K LENS TREATMENT

B Medium energy impact

N LENS TREATMENT

resistance to foggy (anti-fog treatment)

A High energy impact