I agree with Rex. He is consistent with the UL warning "It will not reduce or increase your risk of receiving electric shock when using or working on electrical equipment. Follow the same precautions you would use without wrist straps," "Note: This product is not recommended for use on equipment with operating voltage exceeding 250 VAC. CAUTION: The ESD Series is for electrostatic control. It will not reduce or increase your risk of receiving electric shock when using or working on electrical equipment. Follow the same precautions you would use without wrist straps, including: . Make certain that equipment having a grounding type plug is properly grounded. . Make certain that you are not in contact with grounded objects other than through the ESD Series." Regarding the ESD Handbook ESD TR20.20, it was updated in 2008 The Shoe section 5.3.3.3.3 now reads: "If static control shoes are chosen, special care should be taken to ensure proper fit. Shoe construction is important. Shoes designed specifically for ESD control purposes should be used. Because many static control shoes look like ordinary shoes, a visible tag or marking on the shoe will assist in the monitoring and auditing process. Occasionally, there are people with special shoe requirements such as orthotics. It should be assured that special requirements do not adversely affect the ESD protective function of the shoes." So this sentence was removed "NOTE: Ordinary leather shoes should not be used in ESD controlled areas." The statement was probably removed because it is not true. Certainly, a person grounded via a wrist strap can wear ordinary leather shoes. Gene Felder [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Guy Ramsey Sent: 2010 - 03 - 22 4:24 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] ESD protection / high voltage safety question ESD TR20.20 - ESD association technical report for the Development of an Electrostatic Discharge Control Program for the Protection of Electronic Parts, Assemblies, and Equipment Section 5.3.3.3.3 Shoes If static control shoes are chosen, special care should be taken to ensure proper fit. Shoe construction is important. Shoes designed specifically for ESD control purposes should be used. Because many static control shoes look like ordinary shoes, a visible tag or marking on the shoe will assist in monitoring and auditing process. NOTE: Ordinary leather shoes should not be used in ESD controlled areas. Occasionally, there are people with special shoe requirements such as orthotics. It should be assured that special requirements do not adversely affect the ESD protective function of the shoes. My copy of the Handbook is ten years old. Was this recommendation removed? Guy -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rex Waygood Sent: Monday, March 22, 2010 3:32 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] ESD protection / high voltage safety question I disagree with the approach taken by the feedback you have received. The ESD requirements are nothing to do with your problem. To me your problem is that you are admitting there is a risk of electrocution in your work place and that is the problem you must address. At 20kV it seems to me that this carries the risk of death (with or without wrist straps) and therefore your risk analysis and work procedures should reduce this risk to zero. If not you are effectively planning to kill someone. Once you have done that risk analysis and altered your work procedures to make it safe then wearing heel straps or wrist straps should be neither here or there. The only reason that I can think that it might not be OK to wear heel grounders or wrist straps is if you decide that contact with live parts is likely and therefore the operators must wear rubber gloves, rubber boots of a suitable rating etc. I have operators in my ESD area who wear leather shoes and pass the ESD footware tests every day. Your approach would mean having to replace those shoes. The benches in my ESD area are earthed, so a risk of touching something live and the bench is there with or without wrist straps. We do Hi-Pot tests in our ESD area, the operators wear their standard ESD heel grounders and wrist straps. The whole process has been risk assessed and is considered safe. If your work procedures are correct then the work environment should be safe, with or without ESD precautions. Regards Rex -----Original Message----- From: TechNet on behalf of Graham Collins Sent: Fri 3/19/2010 1:33 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] ESD protection / high voltage safety question Hello TechNet A question for you guys concerning ESD protection and it's interaction (conflict) with safety. We use the standard wrist strap and cord with the built in resistor, and practice that any time an ESD sensitive assembly is being worked on we have to wear the wrist strap. This is fine in the production environment, but in test we can be dealing with some scary voltages, and being nicely grounded is not necessarily a good thing. Say for example, when working with something that has up to 20,000 v DC running through it. What are other folks doing in cases like this? My first instinct is that our rule should be modified to say that the wrist strap is not to be used if voltages in excess of 250v are present. regards, Graham Collins Halifax Production Engineering L-3 communications Electronic Systems (902) 873-2000 ext. 6215 ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. 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