Safety Symbol Index

CSA White Rectangle

The CSA White rectangle with orange Greek letter omega - Ω - indicates soles that provide resistance to electric shock. Such certified footwear contains a sole and heel design assembly that, at the point of manufacturing, has electrical insulating properties to withstand 18,000 Volts and a leakage current not exceeding 1mA for 60 seconds.

CSA Yellow Rectangle

The CSA Yellow rectangle with a green “SD” and grounding symbol indicates soles are static-dissipative. The outer soles are made from an antistatic compound, capable of dissipating an electrostatic charge in a controlled manner. The test criteria are 10⁶ to 10⁸ Ohms. Note that SD footwear without toe protection will not have sole protection certified by CSA.

CSA Blue Rectangle

The CSA Blue Rectangle indicates Grade 1 protective toe without sole puncture protection. Grade 1 toe withstands impacts up to 125 joules.

CSA Green Triangle

The CSA Green triangle patch indicates sole puncture protection with Grade 1 Protective toe to withstand impacts up to 125 joules. Sole puncture protection is designed to withstand a force of not less than 1200 Newtons (270 pounds).

Metatarsal Protection

The Metatarsal Protection symbol indicates protection for the metatarsal region of the foot when working around heavy objects. Toe protection is required for all metatarsal protective footwear.  

Chainsaw Protection

The Chainsaw Protection symbol indicates footwear that provides protection when using chainsaws and other cutting equipment.  

ASTM F1506-10A

"Standard Performance Specification for Flame Resistant and Arc Rated Textile Materials for Wearing Apparel for Use by Electrical Workers Exposed to Momentary Electric Arc and Related Thermal Hazards” This specification provides performance requirements for clothing worn by electrical utility workers and other personnel working around energized parts. In addition to non-thermal requirements, the standard requires the fabric to be FR. Flame resistance here is measured using the ASTM D6413 Vertical Flame test (maximum of two seconds afterflame and 6-inch char length). The arc rating is either the arc thermal performance value (ATPV) or energy breakopen threshold (EBT) as measured by the ASTM F1959-06ae1 Arc Thermal Performance test.

CLASS 1 LEVEL FR

CSA Z96-15 High-visibility safety apparel
The standard specifies requirements for apparel that is intended to provide conspicuity in hazardous situations under any light condition and under illumination by vehicle headlights. This includes colour, retroreflective tape/striping, and minimum areas, as well as the configuration of the materials. Class 1: This is the lowest class and requires the least amount of reflective striping.

• The striping shall be in a basic harness design or stripes/bands over the shoulder(s) and encircling the waist.
• Minimum of .14 m² of background material (approved fluorescent or bright-coloured)
• Minimum of .10 m² of retroreflective material (striping)

Other general requirements include:

• The minimum width of the retroreflective striping is 50 mm.
• When multiple stripes are placed on a garment the minimum spacing between stripes shall be the width of the band.
• Stripes placed near the edge of a garment sleeve, or pant leg shall not be placed less than 50 mm away from the edge.
• Stripes shall be oriented in such a way as to ensure 360° visibility from all angles.
• A symmetric “X” shall be on the back of the garment from the shoulder to the waist.
• If a high visibility garment is specified as being FR it shall meet the requirements set by one of the following FR standards: ASTM F1506, ASTM F1891, NFPA 2112, or CAN/CGSB 155.20.

The Level designation is based on the minimum coefficient of retroreflection of the striping as designated in the standard. If the garment is designated as FR the Level is shown Level FR.

ASTM F2302-08

Standard Performance Specification for Labeling Protective Clothing as Heat and Flame Resistant

NFPA 70E

This standard provides guidance regarding the selection of personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers exposed to hazards associated with energized electrical equipment.

CSA Z462-15

This standard provides guidance regarding the selection of personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers exposed to hazards associated with energized electrical equipment. Many of the clauses and tables contained in this standard are based on, and parallel, those in NFPA 70E.

HRC 2

A PPE Category listed in CSA Z462, to be used when using the PPE category method of identifying arc flash PPE needs.

Arc-rated clothing, minimum arc rating of 8 cal/cm2:

• Arc-rated long-sleeve shirt and pants or arc-rated coverall
• Arc-rated arc flash suit hood; or arc-rated faceshield and arc-rated balaclava
• Arc-rated jacket, parka, rainwear, or hard hat liner (AN)

Protective equipment:

HRC 4

A PPE Category listed in CSA Z462, to be used when using the PPE category method of identifying arc flash PPE needs.

Arc-rated clothing, selected so that the system arc rating meets the required minimum arc rating of 40 cal/cm2:

• Arc-rated long-sleeve shirt (AR)
• Arc-rated pants (AR)
• Arc-rated coverall (AR)
• Arc-rated arc flash suit jacket (AR)
• Arc-rated arc flash suit pants (AR)
• Arc-rated arc flash suit hood
• Arc-rated gloves
• Arc-rated jacket, parka, rainwear, or hard hat liner (AN)

Protective equipment:

• Hard hat
• Safety glasses or safety goggles (SR)
• Hearing protection (ear canal inserts)
• Leather footwear

Legend: AN = as needed (optional); AR = as required; SR = selection required

NFPA 2112-2012

"Standard on Flame-Resistant Garments for Protection of Industrial Personnel Against Flash Fire" This standard specifies the minimum performance requirements and test methods for FR fabrics and components, and the design and certification requirements for clothing developed to protect workers from flash fire hazards. It requires FR fabrics to pass a comprehensive series of thermal tests, including the following:

• ASTM D6413 – Vertical Flammability test: Fabric must not have more than a maximum of two seconds afterflame and a 4-inch char length.
• ASTM F2700 – Heat Transfer Performance (HTP) test: Fabric must have a minimum HTP of 6 cal/cm2 with a spacer and 3 cal/cm2 when in contact with the heat source.
• Thermal Stability test: Fabric must not melt or drip, separate or ignite after five minutes in an oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Thermal Shrinkage test: Fabric must not shrink more than 10 percent after five minutes in an oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
• ASTM F1930-11 – Thermal Mannequin test: Fabric must not have more than a maximum of 50-percent predicted body burn after a three-second thermal exposure.