Analysis of the Efficiency of Russian and International Methodologies of Personal Protection Equipment Shielding Evaluation in Various Conditions of Exposure to Industrial Frequency Electric Fields

Electromagnetic fields are a natural physical factor of the environment; however, the development of technologies facilitates the increase of anthropogenic levels of impact on humans. In a production environment, the proximity of live parts of high- and extra-high-voltage electric installations to workplaces causes the generation of electric and magnetic fields that are considered harmful occupational factors. Personnel’s attendance in the areas where the excess of industrial frequency electric fields varies from 5 kV/m to 25 kV/m is regulated in the Russian Federation by restricting the work shift duration; however, such an approach to ensuring the occupational safety can be unprofitable and sometimes unfeasible, which requires the use of personal protection equipment. The shielding coefficient is the main parameter of personal protection equipment used against industrial frequency electric fields that indicates the degree of electric field intensity attenuation under the suit compared with external exposure. The main protective properties of shielding shunt sets have been evaluated based on using standard personal protection equipment EP-4 (0) in various configurations. Industrial frequency electric field strength values under the suit have been evaluated as well as the current flowing through the protective suit and an electrically conductive mannequin using an industrial frequency high-voltage test setup to imitate a workplace of electricians in homogenous and non-homogenous electric fields. The study dedicated to the evaluation of protective properties of personal protection equipment used against industrial frequency electric fields by Russian and international methodologies has confirmed the efficiency of various sets (coverall, jacket and half-overall, jacket and trousers) for various production conditions. The analysis has revealed a higher sensitivity of the Russian evaluation methodology for the worst-case conditions when a human attends a homogenous electric field and substantiated the potential use of the sets without using separate elements for different jobs, including the jobs under voltages up to 220 kV.