Arc Flash Suit Jacket and Pants

Arc flash suit design shall permit easy and rapid removal by the wearer. The entire arc flash suit, including the hood’s face shield, shall have an arc rating that is suitable for the arc flash exposure. When exterior air is supplied into the hood, the air hoses and pump housing shall be either covered by arc-rated materials or constructed of non-melting and non-flammable materials.

• Be sure to select clothing/ pieces that meet the incident energy or category requirements for your PPE ensemble.
• Loose-fitting clothing provides extra thermal insulation (because of air spaces), but it should not be so loose as to interfere with the work. Tight-fitting clothing should be avoided.
• Just as with any PPE, it’s important to keep in mind that overly protective PPE can introduce other risks unnecessarily. When choosing arc-rated clothing, be sure to choose PPE in a reasonable way to help increase mobility and decrease risk of fatigue and heat exhaustion.
• Note that all arc-rated (AR) clothing is flame-resistant (FR), but not all FR clothing is arc-rated. Arc-rating measures insulation of fabrics to arc flash and is based on laboratory testing. The arc-rating can be reported as ATPV (Arc Thermal Performance Value) or Ebt (Energy of Breakopen Threshold).