Workwear for welders and metal fabricators

A drop of molten metal goes through ordinary synthetic fabric and melts it onto the skin. Heavy cotton resists better, but it ends up catching fire. For a welding station, you need a garment designed for it: EN ISO 11612 covers heat and flame, and EN ISO 11611 is aimed specifically at welding, in two classes depending on the process. Which one, and at what levels: that is for the risk assessment and your prevention adviser to say, not a catalogue.

An open pocket, a trouser turn-up, a gaping collar, a rolled-up sleeve: all places where a drop of metal stops instead of rolling off. Welders' workwear has flapped pockets, covered fastenings and trousers without turn-ups that fall over the boot. The same logic applies underneath: no synthetic underwear that would melt under the jacket, but cotton or a fabric that is itself flame-retardant.

The radiation from a welding arc burns bare skin like sunburn. Hence long sleeves, a closed collar and close-fitting cuffs, even in summer. And a flame-retardant garment does not last for ever: with holes, worn thin or saturated with grease, it no longer protects as its data sheet says. It is inspected, cared for according to the manufacturer's instructions, and replaced.