China: New GB standard for protective clothing
China has published a new National Standard of the P.R.C., Protective clothing — General requirements.
The document specifies the types, general technical requirements, sizing, labeling, packaging and storage of protective clothing. It applies to protective clothing designed to protect the torso.
The standard will replace the previous voluntary version GB/T 20097-2006:
Some of the main technical changes are as follows:
– This document is mandatory;
– The main contents of GB/T 13640-2008 “Labor Protective Clothing Models” are introduced;
– Provisions on the type of protective clothing are added (see 4);
– Provisions on material safety requirements are added (see 5.3); – Provisions on model size are added (see 6);
– Provisions on ergonomic performance inspection (practical performance testing) are added (Appendix A);
– The terms and definitions of protective clothing are modified (see 3.3);
To find out more about product compliance for Personal Protective Equipment, please do not hesitate to contact the Product Compliance Institute.