ISO 16073-8:2019

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 16073-8
First edition
2019-10
Wildland firefighting personal
protective equipment —
Requirements and test methods —
Part 8:
Hearing
Équipement de protection individuelle pour la lutte contre les feux
d'espaces naturels — Exigences et méthodes d'essai —
Partie 8: Protecteurs individuels contre le bruit
Reference number
©
ISO 2019
© ISO 2019
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Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Hearing protectors . 2
4.1 General . 2
4.2 Ear-muffs. 2
4.3 Ear-plugs . 2
4.4 Ear-muffs attached to an industrial safety helmet . 2
5 Marking . 2
6 Manufacturer's information . 2
Bibliography . 4
Foreword
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electrotechnical standardization.
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described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/directives).
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.org/iso/foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC94, Personal safety — Protective equipment,
Subcommittee SC14, Firefighters personal equipment.
This first edition of ISO 16073-8, together with ISO 16073-1 to ISO 16073-7, cancels and replaces
ISO 16073:2011.
The main changes are as follows:
— the content has been reviewed and separated into several parts;
— the respiratory protection has been deleted from the document.
A list of all parts in the ISO 16073 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/members .html.
iv © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

Introduction
Wildland firefighting involves work carried out mostly in summer temperatures and for many hours,
during which the firefighter can develop high levels of metabolic heat. As a consequence, the personal
protective equipment (PPE) is required to be light, flexible and commensurate with the risks to which the
firefighter can be exposed in order to be effective without introducing excessive heat stress to the wearer.
It is important to train firefighters in the selection, use, care and maintenance of the PPE covered by
this document, including an understanding of its limitations.
It is intended that a risk assessment be undertaken to determine if the PPE covered by this document is
suitable for its intended use and the expected exposure.
This document provides minimum performance requirements for wildland firefighters' personal
protective equipment hearing protection, designed for use for extended periods during wildland
firefighting.
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