The proposal relating to PPE includes changes to increase safety for personal protective equipment for private use which provide protection against heat, damp and water.

The Commission examined the competitive effects of the proposed merger in the area of PPE, in particular in the markets for fall protection (equipment designed to provide protection against falls from a height), hand protection (mainly protective and safety gloves), respiratory protection (masks and other equipment designed to provide protection from the atmosphere, against solid and liquid aerosols or gases and from viral and microbial infections), head, eye and face protection (helmets, visors, face shields) and hearing protection (mainly muffs and plugs, either disposable ...[+++]or reusable) where the parties have the most overlapping activities in Europe.

The European standard EN 353-1:2002 ‘Personal protective equipment against falls from a height — Part 1: Guided type fall arresters including a rigid anchor line’, was adopted by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) on 12 March 2002.

The reference of standard EN 353-1:2002 ‘Personal protective equipment against falls from a height — Part 1: Guided type fall arresters including a rigid anchor line’ is withdrawn from the list of harmonised standards published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The anchorage points must be strong enough for the use of personal protective equipment against falls from a height.

The annex lists nine main types of protective equipment: industrial helmets, goggles and visors, ear protectors, respirators, gloves, boots and shoes, protective clothing, lifejackets for industrial use and protection against falls.