PPE General Information
Blasting Helmets
General Information
Hodge Clemco Ltd currently produce two types of helmet designed specifically for blast cleaning operatives. Both models have a 3 lens system to protect the operative’s eyes; a fixed inner lens which fits in to a gasket attached to the helmet shell, an intermediate lens fitted to two lugs on the opening visor, and finally perforated outer lenses in packs of six which fit inside the outer visor.
Apollo 60
The Apollo 60 was first introduced in 1983. At that time all new blasting helmets had to be approved by the Health and Safety Executive, and the Apollo 60 received Certificate of Approval CA/35/89.
In 1995 there was a change in that a British and European Standard for blasting helmets was introduced, BSEN271:1995 and the Apollo 60 met this standard. A further requirement was that all blasting helmets had to have a EU certificate of conformity in line with the provisions of Council Directive 89/686/EEC and carry a CE mark. The helmet became known as the APH60CE and the APH60CEC (with optional climate control tube). The EC certificate for the Apollo 60 CE is 990601 which was issued on 12th July 1995.
Apollo 600
As part of its continuing policy of product improvement the Apollo 600 was launched in 2008. This incorporated several design improvements such as ;
a) the suspension assembly has a convenient knob-style adjustment mechanism
b) the inlet fitting on the upper rear of the helmet is re-placeable extending the life of the helmet
c) it has an integral 25mm deep peak on the top and the side of the helmet to keep dust and abrasive from between the lenses
d) the outer visor is extra-long to protect the top of the cape from abrasive ricochet
e) it has a visual indicator inside the helmet which warns the operator of low air flow. This is a requirement of BSEN 14594:2005 which replaced BSEN 271:1995.