This is a story about finding the right protective footwear for workers, and the lessons learned in the process. For our plant, it’s been an adventure with five specific challenges cropping up along the way. Our plant is considered to be the largest sodium chlorate manufacturing facility in the world. Sodium chlorate liberates oxygen in the presence of an ignition source or fire and helps the fire to burn faster and hotter. This is especially hazardous when it soaks into leather shoes or gloves and doesn’t come out. When sodium chlorate liquor eventually dries or crystallizes, you have a fire hazard; all it takes is an ignition source to create severe problems. In the case of shoes, you could really have a hot foot.
In our production/process areas employees work 8-12 hour shifts and are often on their feet continuously. Due to the fire hazard, we require chemically protective safety shoes or boots. For many years, our shoe requirements were satisfied primarily by using a six-inch black rubber safety toe shoe, a relatively inexpensive six-inch PVC sole boot (primarily for contractors) and a 14-inch PVC sole knee boot. We purchased these boots directly from a supplier we’ll call "Manufacturer A" (names withheld for confidentiality) with a national contract. We later began ordering Manufacturer A’s shoes through a safety supply vendor shelving program in 1991.