SIST EN 342:2004

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST EN 342:2004
01-oktober-2004
1DGRPHãþD
SIST ENV 342:1999
9DURYDOQDREOHND2EODþLODLQNRPSOHWL]D]DãþLWRSUHGPUD]RP
Protective clothing - Ensembles and garments for protection against cold
Schutzkleidung - Kleidungssysteme und Kleidungsstücke zum Schutz gegen Kälte
Vetements de protection - Ensembles vestimentaires et articles d'habillement de
protection contre le froid
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 342:2004
ICS:
13.340.10 Varovalna obleka Protective clothing
SIST EN 342:2004 en
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

---------------------- Page: 1 ----------------------

EUROPEAN STANDARD
EN 342
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
July 2004
ICS 13.340.10 Supersedes ENV 342:1998
English version
Protective clothing - Ensembles and garments for protection
against cold
Vêtements de protection - Ensembles vestimentaires et Schutzkleidung - Kleidungssysteme und Kleidungsstücke
articles d'habillement de protection contre le froid zum Schutz gegen Kälte
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 16 April 2004.
CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European
Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national
standards may be obtained on application to the Central Secretariat or to any CEN member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the Central Secretariat has the same status as the official
versions.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
Management Centre: rue de Stassart, 36  B-1050 Brussels
© 2004 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 342:2004: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

---------------------- Page: 2 ----------------------

EN 342:2004 (E)
Contents
page
Foreword.3
Introduction .4
1 Scope .5
2 Normative references .5
3 Terms and definitions .5
4 Performance assessment and requirements.7
5 Testing methods .8
6 Sizes.9
7 Marking and care labelling.9
8 Information supplied by the manufacturer .9
Annex A (normative)  Standard reference clothing for use with protective clothing against cold.11
Annex B (informative)  Levels of performance.13
Annex C (normative)  Calibration and measurements for resultant effective thermal insulation.15
Annex D (informative)  Garment design features.17
Annex ZA (informative)  Relationship between this European Standard and the Essential
Requirements of EU Directive 89/686/EEC Personal Protective Equipment .18
Bibliography .19

2

---------------------- Page: 3 ----------------------

EN 342:2004 (E)
Foreword
This document (EN 342:2004) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 162 “Protective clothing
including hand and arm protection and lifejackets”, the secretariat of which is held by DIN.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical
text or by endorsement, at the latest by January 2005, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at
the latest by January 2005.
This document supersedes ENV 342:1998.
This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CEN by the European Commission and the
European Free Trade Association, and supports essential requirements of EU Directive 89/686/EEC Personal
Protective Equipment.
For relationship with EU Directive, see informative Annex ZA, which is an integral part of this document.
According to the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following
countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
and United Kingdom.

3

---------------------- Page: 4 ----------------------

EN 342:2004 (E)
Introduction
This European Standard is published to achieve a common basis in Europe for requirements and test
methods for protective clothing ensembles and garments against cold in the interest of especially
manufacturers, test institutes and end-users. The measured properties and their subsequent classification are
intended to ensure an adequate protection level under different user conditions. Thermal insulation of the
ensemble or garment and the air permeability are the essential properties to be tested and marked on the
label.
Thermal insulation is the most important property and it is measured by using a full-sized thermal manikin with
the ensemble or garment and accompanying reference clothing in order to account for the effect of layers, fit,
drape, coverage and shape. In this respect this standard differs from many other standards specifying only
material properties. The insulation is tested with new ensembles and garments. It should be recognized that
ensembles and garments in frequent use may lose significant insulation capacity due to laundering and wear.
In general high quality products and well maintained clothing are less affected in this respect.
Wind may considerably increase convective heat losses. Therefore, the air permeability of the outer garment
material is an important factor to be taken into account in relation to the protection of the wearer against cold.
The insulation requirements and air effects for given conditions can be assessed by methods given in
ENV ISO 11079.
By this method the resultant effective thermal insulation value l can be determined and used to define
cler
temperature ranges (see Tables B.1 and B.2). Therefore the protective value of a clothing ensemble is
evaluated by comparing its measured insulation value and the calculated required insulation value (IREQ).
This comparison is the basis of Tables B.1and B.2.
This guidance information for the selection of the appropriate cold protective garment(s) is one of the benefits,
if the resultant effective thermal insulation value l of the garment(s) has been measured on a thermal
cler
manikin.
Sweating should be avoided in continuous cold exposure, since moisture absorption will progressively reduce
insulation. This is best controlled by selecting optimal rather than maximal insulation and flexible, adjustable
garments rather than fixed and closed ensembles. It is more efficient to get rid of heat and moisture by
ventilation of clothing through adjustable openings and button-up, than by passive diffusion through layers of
garments. When the environment is below freezing, very little, if any, water vapour escapes through the
material because of condensation and, eventually, it can freeze in clothing. In some conditions with
intermittent exposures (e.g. cold store work) or in conditions close to and above 0 °C the water vapour
resistance value of fabrics become increasingly important and fabrics with a low value may contribute to
improved heat balance and thermal comfort.
For protection of a specific part of the body, EN 14058 applies.
4

---------------------- Page: 5 ----------------------

EN 342:2004 (E)
1 Scope
This European Standard specifies requirements and test methods for performance of clothing ensembles (i.e.
two piece suits or coveralls) and of single garments for protection against cold environment.
It does not include specific requirements for head wear, footwear and gloves intended to prevent local cooling.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.

EN 340, Protective clothing — General requirements.
EN 20811, Textiles — Determination of resistance to water penetration — Hydrostatic pressure test.
EN 31092, Textiles —Determination of physiological properties — Measurement of thermal and water-vapour
resistance under steady-state conditions (sweating guarded-hotplate test) (ISO 11092:1993.)
EN ISO 9237, Textiles — Determination of permeability of fabrics to air (ISO 9237:1995).
EN ISO 15831, Clothing — Physiological effects — Measurement of thermal insulation by means of a thermal
manikin (ISO 15831:2004).
EN ISO 4674-1, Rubber- or plastics-coated fabrics — Determination of tear resistance — Part 1: Constant
rate of tear methods (ISO 4674-1:2003).
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this European Standard, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
cold environment
environment characterized by the combination of humidity and wind at air temperature below – 5 °C
NOTE See ENV ISO 11079.
3.2
garment
individual component of a clothing ensemble, the wearing of which provides protection to the part of the body
that it covers
3.3
ensemble
clothing consisting of a two-piece suit or one-piece suit (coverall) or a number of garments covering the body,
except head, hands and feet
3.4
outer shell material
outermost material of which the protective clothing is made
5

---------------------- Page: 6 ----------------------

EN 342:2004 (E)
3.5
liner
insert with a watertight property
3.6
thermal lining
non-watertight layer providing thermal insulation
3.7
thermal liner
layer with a watertight property providing additional thermal insulation
3.8
lining
innermost material without watertight property
3.9
thermal resistance (insulation) R
ct
temperature difference between the two faces of a material divided by the resultant heat flux per unit area in
the direction of the gradient. The dry heat flux may consist of one or more conductive, convective and radiant
components. Thermal resistance R , expressed in square metres kelvin per watt, is a quantity specific to
ct
textile materials or composites which determines the dry heat flux across a given area in response to a steady
applied temperature gradient
3.10
water vapour resistance R
et
water vapour pressure difference between the two faces of a material divided by the resultant evaporative
heat flux per unit area in the direction of the gradient. The evaporative heat flux may consist of both diffusive
and convective components.
Water vapour resistance R , expressed in square metres pascal per watt, is a quantity specific to textile
et
materials or composites which determines the "latent" evaporative heat flux across a given area in response
to a steady applied water vapour pressure gradient
3.11
effective thermal insulation I
cle
thermal insulation from skin to outer clothing surface under defined conditions measured with a stationary
manikin.
The effective thermal insulation value, I , is determined in relation to the naked body surface area.
cle
The value is given in m²⋅ K/W
3.12
resultant effective thermal insulation I
cler
thermal insulation from skin to outer clothing surface under defined conditions measured with or calculated for
a moving manikin.
The resultant effective thermal insulation value, I , is determined in relation to the naked body surface area.
cler
The value is given in m²⋅ K/W
3.13 insulation required IREQ
required resultant thermal insulation calculated on the basis of the thermal parameters of the environment (e.g.
air temperature, mean radiant temperature, air velocity, relative humidity) and the body metabolism
NOTE See ENV ISO 11079.
6

---------------------- Page: 7 ----------------------

EN 342:2004 (E)
3.14
resistance to water penetration WP
hydrostatic pressure supported by a material as a measure of the opposition to the passage of water through
the material
4 Performance assessment and requirements
4.1 General
The ergonomic requirements of EN 340 shall be applied.
4.2 Thermal insulation, I and I
cle cler
Requirements for thermal insulation of the human body in a specific cold environment are assessed on the
basis of ENV ISO 11079.
To be within the scope of this standard, the resultant effective thermal insulation I shall have a minimum
cler
2
value of 0,310 m ⋅ K/W, when measured in accordance with 5.1. Optionally, the effective thermal insulation I
cle
value can be measured according to 5.1.
Thermal insulation of a clothing ensemble or garment is classified on the basis of measured insulation values.
Performance of a clothing ensemble or garment in terms of preserving heat balance at normal body
temperature depends on internal body heat production. Therefore the protective value of a clothing ensemble
or garment is evaluated by comparing its measured insulation value and the calculated required insulation
value (IREQ). This comparison is the basis of Tables B.1 and B.2.
4.3 Air permeability, AP
When tested in accordance with 5.2, the air permeability AP shall be in accordance with Table 1.
Table 1 — Classification of air permeability AP
AP
Class
mm/s
100 > AP 1
5 < AP ≤ 100 2
AP ≤ 5 3
Air permeability shall be measured in accordance with 5.2.
4.4 Resistance to water penetration, WP (optional)
When tested in accordance with 5.3, resistance to water penetration of the outer shell material together with
any incorporated watertight layer and its seams shall be in accordance with Table 2, if required.
Table 2 — Classification of resistance to water penet
...