Electrical Hazard (EH) safety shoes are primarily designed to prevent the formation of an electrical current path when the wearer comes into contact with high voltage. The soles are made of highly insulating materials capable of blocking current flow through the body at specific voltage levels, thereby reducing the risk of electric shock.
They primarily protect:
Electricians
Power utility maintenance personnel
Power transmission and distribution workers
Construction electrical installers
Industrial maintenance engineers
Anti-static safety shoes are designed with the exact opposite objective: instead of blocking current, they facilitate the slow dissipation of static electricity accumulated on the human body into the ground. Static electricity is constantly generated while walking; if it is not dissipated in a timely manner, it can lead to the following issues in certain environments:
Damage to precision electronic components
Ignition of combustible gases
Dust explosions
Failure of chemical products
Therefore, anti-static shoes must possess appropriate conductive properties—neither fully insulating nor excessively conductive.
A. How are they tested under US standards?
The American market primarily follows the ASTM F2413 standard. Key tests related to electrical properties include:
1. EH (Electrical Hazard) test: The testing method involves placing the shoe on a designated test platform, filling the interior with a conductive medium, applying high voltage to the sole, and measuring leakage current.
Typical test conditions:
18,000V AC
Duration: 1 minute
Leakage current must not exceed the specified limit.
2. SD (Static Dissipative) test:
This primarily checks whether static electricity from the human body can be dissipated steadily. The resistance range is typically controlled between approximately 10⁶ Ω and 10⁹ Ω; this ensures that neither a dangerous conductive path is created nor static electricity accumulates.
B. How are they tested under European standards?
European safety shoes primarily comply with EN ISO 20345, which covers two categories of electrical properties:
Anti-static (A)
Test content: Measuring the shoe’s electrical resistance.
Requirement: Resistance must fall within a specified range.
Resistance must be neither too high (preventing static dissipation) nor too low (posing a risk of electric shock).
Typical requirement: Approximately 100 kΩ to 1000 MΩ (10⁵ to 10⁹ Ω). Electrical Insulating Footwear: For high-voltage operations, Europe typically employs dedicated standards for insulating footwear (such as the EN 50321 series) rather than relying on the anti-static requirements found in the general EN ISO 20345 standard. These products are specifically designed and tested for electrical work.
While both insulating safety footwear and anti-static safety footwear fall under the category of professional protective footwear, they address distinct safety needs. The former focuses on protecting personnel from the risk of electric shock, whereas the latter protects products, equipment, and the working environment by dissipating static electricity.
AEGISEC Safety Footwear specializes in the R&D and manufacturing of safety footwear. We provide solutions compliant with standards such as ASTM, EN ISO 20345, and CSA to meet diverse market demands. Our products feature various specifications—including impact resistance, puncture resistance, slip resistance, electrical insulation, and anti-static capabilities—and we offer OEM/ODM customization services, delivering reliable product support to global brands, importers, and wholesalers.
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