ASTM F2413

ASTM F2413 covers the minimum design, performance, testing, labeling, and classification requirements for footwear designed to protect against a variety of workplace hazards that can potentially result in injury. Replacing the specification ANSI Z41, ASTM F2413 should be referenced when purchasing protective footwear to ensure minimum performance requirements are met. OSHA incorporates this reference standard in 29 CFR Part 1910.136 – Foot protection.

Footwear is third-party tested as per ASTM F2412: Standard Test Methods for Foot Protection to measure resistance to hazards that may result in worker injury. Each protection criteria test is administered three times, and the lowest score is used to ensure compliance with minimum performance requirements.

Footwear certified as meeting the ASTM F2413 standard must primarily meet the protection requirements for (I) impact resistance and (C) compression resistance. Then, additional protection criteria, if met, are labeled accordingly, depending on specific footwear protection requirements. Footwear labels should clearly state which of the requirements the footwear meets. Requirements are as follows:

• Impact resistance for the toe area of footwear. While a steel toe is not required, a protective toe cap should be a permanent part of the footwear. Previous versions of ASTM F2413 specified several levels of impact protection; the most recent update to the standard requires the highest level, protecting against impacts up to a 75-pound force.
• Compression resistance for the toe area of footwear. Earlier versions of ASTM F2413 specified several levels of compression protection, but the latest update requires the highest level, protecting against compression from a rolling object weighing up to 2,500 pounds.
• Metatarsal protection reduces the chance of injury to the metatarsal bones at the top of the foot. Footwear should be designed, constructed, and manufactured so that a metatarsal impact guard is positioned partially over the protective toe cap and extended to cover the metatarsal bone area. Earlier versions of ASTM F2413 specified several levels of metatarsal protection, but the latest update requires the highest level, protecting against impacts up to a 75-pound force.
• Electric hazard (EH) resistant footwear has an outsole and heel that protects workers from electric shock hazards. While OSHA requires employers to first and foremost take protective measures to prevent electrical hazards from occurring, electric hazard (EH) safety shoes provide a supplemental form of protection for at-risk workers. The electrical hazard protection of EH footwear is severely diminished in wet conditions or where footwear can be contaminated with conductive materials, such as metal shavings. In these environments, dielectric overshoes should be worn.
• Static dissipative (SD) footwear is worn in computer component handling facilities and environments where static electricity generated by manufacturing processes can cause problems. This type of footwear reduces excess static electricity by conducting a charge from body to ground while simultaneously maintaining a high level of resistance to protect the wearer. There are now three levels of SD protection listed on labels: SD10, SD35, or SD100.
• Conductive (Cd) footwear  dissipates static electricity much faster than SD-rated footwear and is worn in highly flammable or explosive environments, dissipating static electricity from the body, through the shoes, and into the ground. This reduces the possibility of explosives or volatile chemicals igniting from a static spark. Static dissipative and conductive footwear both conduct electricity and therefore should not be worn where electrical hazards could be present.
• Puncture resistance of footwear bottoms.  A puncture-resistant plate should be positioned between the insole and outsole and made an integral and permanent part of the footwear.

Labeling and Identification:

The ASTM F2413 label uses a specific three or four-line format to identify the type of footwear and the hazards it protects against:

• Line 1: Identifies compliance with ASTM F2413 and indicates the standard’s year of issuance.
• Line 2: Identifies gender of the wearer (M/F) and meets the protection requirements for impact resistance and compression resistance.
• Lines 3 and 4: Identifies additional protection criteria for specific types of hazards. Metatarsal (Mt) resistance is now indicated on line 3.

From ASTM F2413-18 – Section 6, Labeling and Identification.

The label must list the requirements the footwear meets, as demonstrated by the examples above. Footwear may protect against seven categories. The protection provided is described on the label using the abbreviation shown below.

• I – Impact-resistant footwear (Section 5.2)
• C – Compression-resistant footwear (Section 5.3)
• Mt – Identifies footwear designed to be impact resistant to the top of the foot (metatarsal) (Section 5.4)
• Cd – Identifies protection against conductive hazards (Section 5.5)
• EH – Identifies footwear with outsole and heel made of electrical insulation properties; one that is also shock resistant (Section 5.6)
• SD – Identifies footwear designed to reduce the accumulation of excess static electricity (Section 5.7)
• PR – Identifies footwear designed to be puncture-resistant (Section 5.8)

The numbered section at the end of each description provides a reference to the section in ASTM 2413-18 that describes the performance requirements a product must meet before it can be labeled as protecting against the specific hazard. It also describes the testing procedure used.

The standard can be purchased and downloaded from the ASTM website at http://www.astm.org/Standards/F2413.htm.