In 1998, ASTM published the first voluntary consensus standard for rainwear designed to protect workers against arc-flash explosions: ASTM F1891, Standard Specification for Arc and Flame Resistant Rainwear. ASTM rolled out a similar standard (ASTM F1506) four years earlier. But ASTM F1506 applies only to FR clothing. It doesn’t include fabrics and coatings commonly used in rainwear products. ASTM F1891provides test methods, performance criteria and purchasing information for rainwear designed to protect workers from exposure to electric arcs and open flames.
ASTM F1891 and ASTM F2733 require significantly higher levels of protection than the federal government’s FTSM 5903.1. The two standards make an important distinction: FR rainwear with limited protection (tested to ASTM D6413) and FR rainwear to protect against more injuious thermal hazards: arc flashes (ASTM F1891) and flash fires (ASTM F2733).