EN 343 Protective Clothing - Protection Against Rain

In the BS EN 343 standard, developed by the British Standards Institute (BSI), the requirements for the performance of protective clothing materials for protection against the effects of rain, fog and moisture such as rain or snow are explained and test methods are presented. Clothing intended to protect against effects other than rain, such as splashes and waves, are excluded from the scope of this standard. The protective effects and requirements of shoes, gloves and individual headgear are also outside the scope of this standard. This standard has been published in our country by the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE) with the following title: EN 343 Protective clothing - Protection against rain.

It is important that employees have the correct level of protection. There are significant differences between a garment made only of waterproof fabric and a garment made as a waterproof garment that has been tested and approved. Some water-resistant clothing provides only limited protection against rain. Clothing described as water repellent may have been treated to drip water on the surface, but zippers, seams and pockets do not necessarily have protection. Therefore, outdoor protective clothing designed to protect against bad weather often needs to be tested in accordance with the BS EN 343 standard, which measures their waterproof and breathability.

BS EN 343 standard, in addition to the fabric used, is a European standard that takes into account the entire garment construction and provides protection against rainy weather. The assessment is made in two categories: the first is to evaluate the ability to protect against precipitation, fog and moisture, and the second is to determine the breathability in these particular conditions. Later, grading from one to three is made in these two categories. According to this,

• Water penetration resistance
  • 1 = Minimum rain protection level
  • 2 = Interim rain protection
  • 3 = Highest level of rain protection
• Breathability
  • 1 = Cannot be considered as breathable according to the EN343 standard
  • 2 = Moderate breathability
  • 3 = Highest breathability

With the experience gained over many years, our organization also provides BS EN 343 protective clothing, rain protection test services to the demanding enterprises within the framework of laboratory services of materials with a trained and expert staff.