DIN EN 166:2001: Personal eye protection - Requirements

Scope of application

This European Standard specifies functional requirements for different types of personal eye protection equipment and their marking.

Types of eye protection equipment

Three different types are distinguished: Temple goggles with and without side shields, basket goggles and face shields.

Application areas of the eye protection devices

Eye protection devices, depending on their characteristics, can protec against

• Impacts of various energies 
• Dust 
• Optical radiation 
• Gases 
• Melting metals and hot solids
•  Drops and splashes 
• and arc flash.

Requirements

General

Eye protectors must not cause skin irritation, have protruding parts, sharp edges or other defects likely to be uncomfortable when worn or to cause injury.

Labelling

Eye shield

Eye protection devices must have a minimum field of vision. According to spherical, astigmatic and prismatic refractive power, the lenses are divided into 3 optical classes1. They must also be UV-resistant.

The lens and the supporting body must be marked separately, unless they consist of one unit. The marking must be clearly visible and permanent and must not impair the wearer's vision.

Structure of the marking

Identification of the wearer

The marking of the wearer includes the manufacturer's abbreviation, the number of this standard, the areas of use and the resistance.

Lens identification

On the vision panel, the manufacturer's abbreviation is listed first, followed by the optical class, the abbreviation for non-adhesion of molten metal and resistance to penetration by hot solids (if applicable), and then the resistance to higher velocity particles. Other properties of the lens can be identified by the last digits.

Optical classes

Class 1: enables work with particularly high demands on visual performance (for continuous use).

Class 2: suitable for work with average visual performance requirements.

Class 3: should only be used in exceptional cases, for rough work without major demands on visual performance (not for continuous use).(Source: BGR 192 (ZH 1/703)

Meaning of the marking

• Short sign: Description

Optical classes of the viewing window

• 1: Optical class 1
• 2: Optical class 2
• 3: Optical class 3

Ranges of use of the eye protection device

• 3: Liquids (drops and splashes) 
• 4: Dust with a particle size > 5 μm 
• 5: Gases, vapours, mists, smoke and dust with a particle size < 5 μm 
• 6: Radiant heat from infrared sources 
• 8: Electric arcs during short circuits in electrical installations 
• 9: Splashes of molten metals and penetration of hot solids

Resistance to higher velocity particles

• Without identifier: Basic mechanical strength
• S: Increased mechanical strength (ball drop test 43g steel ball)
• F: Low energy impacts (0.88g steel ball impact test, 45 m/s)
• B: Medium energy impacts (0.88g steel ball impact, 120 m/s)
• High-energy impacts (bombardment with 0.88g steel ball, 190 m/s)

Other features

• N: Resistance to fogging of the viewing windows
• K: Surface resistance to damage by small particles.
• R: Increased reflectance
• C: Symbol for improved colour recognition
• O: Original/replacement lens