A pair of well-worn steel-toe shoes.

A pair of ISO 20345:2004 compliant S3 safety boots.

A steel-toe boot (also known as a safety boot, steel-capped boot or safety shoe) is a durable boot or shoe that has a protective reinforcement in the toe which protects the foot from falling objects or compression, usually combined with a mid sole plate to protect against punctures from below. They were invented in Germany at the end of World War II.^[1]

Although traditionally made of steel, the reinforcement can also be made of a composite material, a plastic such as thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) or even Aluminum. Steel-toe boots are important in the construction industry and in many industrial settings. Occupational safety and health legislation or insurance requirements may require the use of such boots in some settings, and may mandate certification of such boots and the display of such certification directly on the boots. In Canada, certified boots have a Canadian Standards Association green triangle on them.

Safety footwear now comes in many styles, including sneakers and clogs. Some are quite formal, for supervising engineers who must visit sites where protective footwear is mandatory.

Some brands of steel-toe footwear, particularly Dr. Martens and Grinders, have become fashionable within subcultures such as skinhead, punk, and rivethead. While brands that were previously renowned within the fashion industry have also diversified into the safety footwear market, industrial brands like Caterpillar, Rock Fall and JCB have also given out licenses to produce safety footwear.

Safety criteria [edit]

United States [edit]

Most safety shoes have symbols on the outside, to indicate the protection the shoe offers. Examples are:

• Green Triangle indicates that it is a class 1 toe cap with puncture resistant sole.
• Yellow Triangle indicates that it is a class 2 toe cap with puncture resistant sole.
• White Square (with ohm symbol) indicates electrical protection.
• Yellow Square (with SD) indicates anti-static protection.
• Red Square (with C) indicates electrically conductive.
• Fir Tree indicates protection against chain-saws.

In the United States, the applicable standard for protective footwear is ASTM standards F 2412-05, Standard Test Methods for Foot Protection and ASTMF 2413-05, Standard Specification for Performance Requirements for Foot Protection.

OSHA requires compliance of ANSI Z41.1-1991, "American National Standard for Personal Protection-Protective Footwear," if purchased after July 5, 1994,^[2] or ANSI standard "USA Standard for Men's Safety-Toe Footwear," Z41.1-1967.^[3] if purchased before.

California has updated its regulations with the new 2005 ASTM standards F 2412-05, Standard Test Methods for Foot Protection and ASTM F 2413-05, Standard Specification for Performance Requirements for Foot Protection.^[4]

Canada [edit]

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) have been using symbols on safety footwear for more than 30 years. Each shape & color represents specific safety criteria for all safety footwear and apparel purchased in Canada. (A useful chart is available on-line describing the CSA symbols)

• Green Triangle with CSA symbol - Sole puncture protection with a Grade 1 protective toe. (Heavy work environment: construction; machine shops; where sharp objects are present)
• Yellow Triangle with registered symbol - Sole puncture protection with a Grade 2 protective toe. (Light industrial work environments)
• White rectangle with orange Greek letter "Omega" & CSA symbol - Soles that provide electric shock resistance. (Any industrial environment where live electrical conductors can occur)
• Yellow rectangle with green letters "SD", a grounding symbol & CSA symbol - Capable of dissipating an electrostatic charge in a controlled manner. (Any industrial environment where a static discharge can be a hazard for workers or equipment)
• Red rectangle with a black letter "C", grounding symbol & CSA symbol - Soles that are electrically conductive (Any industrial environment where low-lower electrical charges can be a hazard for workers or equipment)
• White label with green fir tree symbol & CSA symbol - Provides protection when using chainsaws. (Forestry workers & others required to use a chainsaw)
• Blue Square with CSA symbol - Grade 1 protective toe only. (For all other environments not listed above)

Generally, a safety shoe is a shoe that follows at least one of five criteria. The criteria that a safety shoe adheres to can be found by looking for the CSA (Canadian Standards Association) alphanumerical code found inside the shoe. This code is made up of a combination of 5 different symbols:

• 1, 2 or 0;
• P or 0;
• M or 0;
• E, S or C;
• X or 0.

1. The first code indicates if the shoe has a steel-toe cap (a metal shell embedded on top of the toes part of the shoe). "0" means there is none. "1" means that there is, and it resists an impact of 125 joules (22.7 kg object falling from 56 m above). "2" means that it resists an impact of 90 joules.
2. The second code indicates if the shoe has soles that protect the arches of the feet from punctures. "P" means it does. "O" means it doesn't.
3. The third code indicates if the shoe has a metatarsus protection against shocks and collisions. "M" means it does. "O" doesn't.
4. The fourth code indicates the shoe's electrical properties. "E" means it resists electrical shocks. "S" means it disperses static electrical. "C" means it conducts electricity.
5. This last code is found only on shoes that protect the foot from chainsaws, i.e. chainsaw boots. "X" it does, "O" does not.

Europe [edit]

A pair of ISO 20345:2004 compliant A anti-static shoes

A pair of ISO 20345:2004 compliant S3 safety shoes

A pair of ISO 20345:2004 compliant S3 HRO HI CI FPA safety boots for firefighters

The International Organization for Standardization provides the European standard for Safety footwear. The current one is ISO 20345:2004^[5] - previously BS EN 345-1:1993.^[6]

The codes applicable to European safety footwear are:

There is also EN ISO 20346:2004 ^[7] for protective footwear (must comply to basic safety requirements but toe cap impact resistance requirement is lower - 100 Joules) & EN ISO 20347:2004 ^[8] for Occupational Footwear (must comply to basic safety requirements with anti static or slip resistant properties. This standard does not require a protective toe cap)

Asia [edit]

Safety shoe standards in Asia are :

• China : GB 21148 & An1, An2, An3, An4, An5
• Indonesia : SNI 0111:2009
• Japan : JIS T8101
• Malaysia : SIRIM MA 1598:1998
• Singapore : SS 513-1:2005
• India : JAS-ANZ ISO 9001:2000

Australia [edit]

• Australia : AS/NZS 2210.3:2009

Use as a weapon [edit]

Steel-toe boots have been used in assaults, such as the attack on Josie Lou Ratley, a Florida teenager.^[9] Nightclubs and other entertainment venues frequently include a "no steel toecaps" rule as part of their dress code to mitigate the possibility of serious injury to other patrons if the wearer becomes violent.^[10]

See also [edit]

• Chainsaw Safety Clothing
• Personal protective equipment
• Rigger boot
• Safety engineering

References [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Protective shoes