The Safety Equipment Institute (SEI) has issued the first certifications to products for NFPA 1992, Standard on Liquid-Splash Protective Ensembles and Clothing for Hazardous Materials Emergencies, 2012 Edition.

The independent testing of these protective ensembles used in the fire and emergency services continues to be conducted at SEI’s contract testing laboratory, Intertek, Cortland, NY. The staff at SEI and Intertek closely monitored the progress of the new standard through participation on the Technical Correlating Committee on Fire and Emergency Services Protective Clothing and Equipment, and are well-equipped for testing to the new standard.

The revised NFPA 1992 standard has an effective date of January 2, 2012 and supersedes all other editions. The 2012 edition was revised extensively to include a new requirement on thermal heat loss, revisions to slip resistance testing and flexural fatigue procedure for footwear, as well as removal of the puncture resistance test. In addition, new definitions were included, there was a revision to the section on Manufacturers Quality Assurance Programs, and updates were made to ANSI, ISO/IEC and ASTM standards.

Along with initial compliance testing of all protective ensembles, manufacturers who participate in the SEI certification program must pass a rigorous quality assurance audit of their manufacturing facility and operate in accordance with ISO 9001. Also, all products carrying the SEI label are required to be re-certified annually. This means that all products must be re-tested annually, and the manufacturing facility must continue to successfully meet all SEI quality assurance requirements during follow-up audits.

“As a non-profit organization, we are committed to making sure emergency responders have confidence in the safety products they rely on for protection from hazards,” stated Patricia A. Gleason, SEI President. The SEI's purpose is to assure that products have been manufactured to specifications and should perform at expected levels. SEI-certified ensembles that meet the new criteria are now available as an option for emergency responders.

Information about SEI’s certification program and the most current version of the SEI Certified Product List can be accessed on SEI’s web site, www.SEInet.org, by anyone, anywhere in the world at any time of the day. The bulk of the SEI home page includes the SEI Certified Product List which provides certified product model names and numbers, manufacturer’s names, addresses, and contact numbers.