Safetytoes and Chemicals – what’s the score?

When it comes to using safetytoe overshoes for protection against chemical intrusion much use is sometimes made of Chemical Charts. Some overshoe companies offer Chemical Charts as a matter of course. This is custom and practice in the safety footwear industry and a good one at that. However, there are some comments to be made.

For a start, I have always said that any environment where chemicals are a major element proper safety boots or shoes should be used.

Secondly, these Chemical Charts are “for qualified professionals who recommend, select, specify or otherwise determine the suitability of products for worker safety”. I’m not sure that all buyers of safetytoe overshoes are qualified enough to be making an informed decision on suitability.

Thirdly, I’ve noticed glaring errors on one particular Chemical Chart that led me to believe the whole business of chemical resistance was being used for dubious sales practices. This particular company makes a PVC product but it is sold all over the USA as a “100% rubber” product! This kind of thing should make buyers very wary.

In the case of the ‘Slipp-R’ safetytoe overshoe the thickness of the sole exceeds on average 4.5 mm. While this affords significant protection from most things underfoot, and while the ‘Slipp-R’ has proven excellent chemical resistance, we still recommend careful selection when any chemicals are in abundance.

Having said all that, recently the ‘Slipp-R’ was chosen by a major world-wide chemical manufacturing company and recommended for use in all their plants. I guess that’s a good sign?

Mister Safetytoes