Face shield
A face shield, an item of personal protective equipment (PPE), aims to protect the wearer's entire face (or part of it) from hazards such as flying objects and road debris, chemical splashes (in laboratories or in industry), or potentially infectious materials (in medical and laboratory environments).
Industry
A face shield is intended to protect the wearer's partial or entire face and the eyes from hazards. Face shields should be used with spectacles and/or goggles.[1]
Standards
- ANSI (American Standard)
- Mark Z87: Basic impact: Faceshields shall be capable of resisting impact from a 25.4 mm (1 in) diameter steel ball dropped from a height of 127 cm (50 in).
- Mark Z87+: High impact: Faceshields shall be capable of resisting impact from a 6.35 mm (0.25 in) diameter steel ball traveling at a velocity of 91.4 m/s (300
- EN 166 (European Standard)
These shields are for protection against high-speed particles, and must withstand the impact of a 6 mm nominal diameter steel ball, striking the oculars and the lateral protection at the speed stated.
- Mark A: 190 m/s.
- Mark B: 120 m/s.
- Mark F: 45 m/s.
- ref. EN166
- CSA (Canadian Standard)
Z94.3-15 Eye and Face Protectors Class 6 relates to face shields, and is divided into 3 sub-classes
- 6A – Impact, piercing, splash, head, and glare protection.
- 6B – Radiation protection. Also for low heat, splash, glare, and light non-piercing impact protection.
- 6C – High-heat applications and light non-piercing impact protection only.
- ref. CSA Z94.3-15
See also welding helmet.
Materials
- Polycarbonate (PC)
Provides excellent impact resistance, optical quality, heat resistance and normal chemical resistance.
- Cellulose acetate (CA)
Provides normal impact resistance, optical quality, heat resistance and good chemical resistance.
Manufacturing
Two methods are used to manufacture face shields: extrusion and injection molding. Faceshields cut from extrusion sheets provide better impact resistance than injection molded faceshields because extrusion sheets are made of high molecular weight plastic pellets while injection molding must use lower molecular weight plastic pellets, which provide better melt flowing property needed by injection molding. For example, even faceshields 0.8 mm thick made of extrusion polycarbonate sheets can withstand the impact of a 6 mm nominal diameter steel ball traveling at the speed 120 m/s (European standard, protection against high-speed particles – medium energy impact), while injection molding faceshields must have at least 1.5 mm thickness to withstand the same impact. But injection molding can provide more complicated shape than extrusion.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people from 86 countries engaged in the voluntary production of PPE to supplement traditional supply chains - many of which had been interrupted.[2] They collectively produced a total of 25 million face shields with techniques including 3D printing, Laser cutting, Injection molding.[3]
3D printing of face shields during COVID-19 pandemic
3D file for printing a face shield[4]
Buckle for the face shield
Final shield
Medical
![[icon]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/20px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2020) |
In medical applications, "face shield" refers to a variety of devices used to protect a medical professional during a procedure that might expose them to blood or other potentially infectious fluids. An example is the use of a CPR mask while performing rescue breathing or CPR. Another example is the use of personal protective equipment to guard the face against exposure to potentially infectious materials.
Police and military
- (c) Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0
Russian paratrooper with a 6B47 helmet and ballistic face shield
Removing a face shield from a Sailor’s MCU-2/P gas mask after washing it with decontamination solution during a General Quarters Drill aboard an aircraft carrier
In military or law enforcement environments, a face shield may be designed for ballistic or non-ballistic protection. The non-ballistic shield will provide no protection from projectiles shot from firearms,[5] but is usually designed to withstand low velocity impacts, like caused by punches or thrown objects.[6]
A ballistic face shield is designed to stop or deflect blast and fragments from operators wearing bomb suits[7] To protect the wearers eyes and face from ballistic threats in combat is envisioned in the PEO Soldier program for the United States Department of Defense.[8]
Construction
On many construction sites many workers use face shields to protect them from debris or sparks. Many tools for cutting and working with metal recommend the use of a face shield. Examples include welding equipment or metal chop saws.
See also
References
- ^ ANSI Z87.1-2003, page 11
- ^ "DESIGN | MAKE | PROTECT". Open Source Medical Supplies. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
- ^ "DESIGN | MAKE | PROTECT". Open Source Medical Supplies. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ "GliaX/faceshield". Glia Free Medical hardware. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ A. Hunsicker: Behind the Shield: Anti-Riot Operations Guide Universal Publishers, 2011,ISBN 978-1612330358, p. 166
- ^ article: "Die Helm-Maskenkombination HMK" on polizeipraxis.de (german)
- ^ Ashok Bhatnagar: Lightweight Ballistic Composites: Military and Law-Enforcement Applications, Woodhead Publishing, 2018,ISBN 978-0081004067, pp. 133, 222
- ^ Ashok Bhatnagar: Lightweight Ballistic Composites: Military and Law-Enforcement Applications, Woodhead Publishing, 2018,ISBN 978-0081004067, pp. 396, 397
External links
Media related to Face shields at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to Media files used on this page
Author/Creator: DFID - UK Department for International Development, Licence: CC BY 2.0
Nurse Donna Wood in her safety suit
Senior Sister Donna Wood has been nursing for 29 years.
She's one of the many medics from across Britain's National Health Service who are joining the UK's fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone.
"I'd been following the stories on the news and I felt I had to do this straight away: I could use the skills I’ve got to make a difference and join a team to help bring the disease under control."
The medics - who include GPs, nurses, clinicians, psychiatrists and consultants in emergency medicine - will work on testing, diagnosing and treating people who have contracted the deadly virus.
"I'm feeling very prepared. We’ve had gold standard training – second to none. Now I just want to get out there and use my skills. You don’t think of it as being heroic. It’s just what we do."
ARABIAN SEA (March 1, 2011) Electrician's Mate Fireman Alex Kline, assigned to the electrical division of the engineering department of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), checks for bad fuses on a lighting panel. The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group is deployed supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans/Released)
Author/Creator: Gustavo Basso, Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
Antônia Josefa Ozório, biochemist and laboratory technician; responsible for the control of tests, such as those for malaria and Covid-19, carried out on board
(c) Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0
Практическая тренировка подразделений штурма и разграждения 1-й гвардейской моторизованной инженерной бригады ВС РФ
A video describing research on the efficacy of face shields against exposure to infectious aerosol created by coughing
Atlantic Ocean (Jan. 27, 2006) - Chief Damage Controlman, John Brooks, removes the face shield from a Sailor’s MCU-2/P gas mask after washing it with decontamination solution during a General Quarters Drill aboard the Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). Eisenhower is underway conducting carrier qualifications. U.S. Navy photo by Airman Peter Carnicelli (RELEASED)
Author/Creator: Jan Beránek, Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
3D printing of face shields in Kadaň, Chomutov District, Ústí nad Labem Region, Czechia