ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) 2413 sets the minimum standards and testing procedures for safety footwear.
The identification of the ASTM 2413 standard is:
- LINE 1 – ASTM F2413-11 (The F2413 identifies the ASTM Standard and the “11” signifies the year of the standard)
- LINE 2 – F (Female) or M (Male) and I/75 (Impact safety-toe protection) and C/75 (Compression safety-toe protection)
- LINE 3 – Used to reference additional protective features and they should appear in the order that they appear in the standard, i.e. Mt, Cd, EH, SD, PR.
Every year, thousands of workplace injuries occur that could have been prevented with the right gear. Safety work boots are tested according to ASTM 2413 standards for impact and compression safety-toe resistance, metatarsal protection, conductivity resistance, electrical shock resistance, static dissipative properties, and puncture resistance. Below is a guide to help understand what exactly ASTM is and how safety footwear is tested.
Impact ( I ) and Compression ( C ) Resistance
A safety test is performed by dropping a 50 pound weight from a predetermined height (1.5 feet) at a designated speed. The I/75 C/75 rated footwear will protect the wearer’s toes from an impact of up to 75 foot-pounds and compressive loads up to 2,500 pounds.
The clearances under the safety toe after the test is performed are as follows:
- Men-0.500 Inch (12.7mm)
- Women-0.468 Inch (11.9mm)
*The standard doesn’t cover the use of ‘aftermarket add-on’ protective toe devices*
Electrical Shock Resistant Protection- EH
EH protective footwear is designed to reduce the hazards due to accidental contact with live electrical circuits and is only meant to be used as a secondary protection for electrical hazard environments.
View MooseLog Electrical Hazard footwear
The outer surface of the sole and heel shouldn’t be penetrated by any electrically conductive component, like nails in the heel.
EH shock resistant footwear must be capable of withstanding the application of 18,000 volts at 60 Hz for 1 minute with no current flow or leakage in excess of 1.0 milliampere.
Sole Puncture Resistant Footwear – PR
View MooseLog Puncture Resistant footwear
Puncture resistant footwear includes a sole puncture resistant device (usually below the insole) which reduces the possibility of puncture wounds to the bottom of the feet.
PR footwear should withstand a minimum nail penetration force of 270 pounds.