ALL ABOUT RAINWEAR

The Misunderstood Label
Why Relying on ASTM D6413 Can Compromise Worker Safety in Flash Fires & Arc Flashes

The Dangers Of Misconceptions

In the safety industry, there is a critical, widespread misconception about what that specific ASTM label actually means. Relying on ASTM D6413 as proof of comprehensive worker protection doesn’t just violate best practices; it puts lives at risk.

Here is the truth behind the label and why your FR rainwear needs to meet much more rigorous, hazard-specific standards.

The Illusion of Safety: What ASTM D6413 Actually Measures

The core of the misunderstanding lies in confusing a component test with a garment performance standard.

ASTM D6413 is a vertical flame test. It is a small-scale, bench-top laboratory method designed to measure a specific material sample's resistance to ignition.

During this test:

• A 3-inch by 12-inch strip of fabric is exposed to a controlled flame for 12 seconds.
• Technicians measure the char length (how far the fabric burns) and afterflame time (how long it keeps burning after the flame is removed).

While ASTM D6413 is an excellent tool for quality control and a foundational step in textile manufacturing, it is not a garment pass/fail standard.

The Reality Check: A fabric strip might pass a vertical flame test in a controlled lab, but that does not tell you how an entire rain jacket - complete with seams, zippers, snaps, and coatings—will behave when engulfed in a 1,900°C flash fire or subjected to the massive thermal energy of an arc flash. Rainwear made of melting plastics (like untreated PVC or polyurethane) can pass D6413 if treated with fire retardants, yet still melt into a worker’s skin during a real-world thermal event.

The Hazard-Specific Standards That Actually Matter

If your workers face flash fire hazards (common in oil and gas or chemical processing), ASTM D6413 is wildly insufficient. You must look for ASTM F2733.

Unlike a simple bench test, ASTM F2733 subjects a fully outfitted thermal mannequin ("instrumented mannequin") to a simulated 3-second flash fire.

• The Requirement: To pass, the garment must limit predicted total body burn to less than 40%.
• The Scope: It tests the entire garment system, ensuring that closures don't fuse shut, fabric doesn't melt or shrink drastically, and the jacket can actually be removed quickly post-incident.

2. Arc Flash Protection: ASTM F1891

For electrical utilities and live-line workers, an arc flash is a constant threat. Rainwear for these environments must be certified to ASTM F1891.

This standard evaluates the material's Arc Thermal Performance Value (ATPV) or Breakopen Threshold Energy (E_BT). It ensures that the rainwear will not melt and contribute to a worker's injuries when exposed to the extreme radiant heat of an electric arc, while establishing a definitive Arc Rating (cal/cm²).

Why NFPA 2112 Won't Save Your Rainwear

Another point of confusion for safety managers is NFPA 2112, the gold standard for flame-resistant garments protecting against industrial flash fires. It is incredibly common to seek out NFPA 2112 certification for daily workwear like coveralls, jeans, and shirts.

However, rainwear is explicitly excluded from the scope of NFPA 2112.

Because rainwear requires specialized water-resistant coatings (like polyurethane or PVC laminated to a flame-resistant base fabric), it behaves differently under thermal stress than breathable cotton or aramid daily workwear. Recognizing this difference, the National Fire Protection Association left rainwear out of NFPA 2112, leaving ASTM F2733 and ASTM F1891 as the definitive, legally recognized standards for protective outerwear.

Action Items for Safety Managers

It’s time to look closely at your protective outerwear inventory. To ensure your team is genuinely protected, transition from "flame-retardant" assumptions to certified protection:

1. Audit Your Labels: Check your current rainwear inventory. If a tag only cites ASTM D6413, understand that it is not rated as a protective garment for flash fire or arc flash environments.
2. Specify the Right Standards in Procurement: Update your safety manuals and purchasing specs. Demand ASTM F2733 for flash fire hazards and ASTM F1891 for electrical arc hazards.
3. Remember the Hierarchy: Treat ASTM D6413 as a raw material baseline, never the final word on human safety.

When the storm hits and a thermal event occurs, a worker shouldn't have to discover that their rain jacket was only tested on a lab bench. Ensure your gear matches the hazard, not just the buzzword

Beyond the Vest
Navigating ANSI/ISEA 107 Class 2 vs. Class 3 Rainwear in Low-Visibility Downpours

COMING SOON

Stay Hi-Vis In Low-Visibility Weather

For safety procurement teams, this is the exact moment where compliance transitions from a legal checkbox to a life-saving barrier. Yet, all too often, the personnel responsible for outfitting crews make a critical mistake: they treat industrial rainwear as if it were just a waterproof version of a standard high-visibility safety vest.

Selecting industrial rainwear based purely on color (choosing "safety yellow" or "orange" because it looks bright in a well-lit warehouse) leaves field workers exposed to extreme risk. Rainwear demands a far more strategic approach to high-visibility compliance.

Let’s explore the critical intersection of waterproofing and the ANSI/ISEA 107 standard, focusing on why the choice between Performance Class 2 and Class 3 matters most when the weather is at its worst.

The Low-Visibility Cocktail: Rain, Darkness, and Speed

In a heavy downpour, a worker standing on the shoulder of a highway or navigating a busy logistics yard faces a triple threat:

1. Drastically Reduced Contrast: Rain clouds block natural sunlight, reducing the contrast between a worker and their background.
2. Visual Distortion: Water on vehicle windshields and equipment mirrors refracts light, creating glare and breaking up the visual silhouette of anyone nearby.
3. Delayed Human-Form Recognition: At 55 mph, a motorist travels over 80 feet per second. If a driver takes three full seconds to recognize that a yellow shape in the distance is an actual human being rather than a construction barrel, they will have traveled nearly 250 feet before their foot even touches the brake.

This is why ANSI/ISEA 107 defines specific Performance Classes. The higher the class, the more retroreflective material (reflective tape) and background material (high-visibility fluorescent fabric) are required to cut through environmental chaos.

Class 2 vs. Class 3 Rainwear: Understanding the Thresholds

To build an effective rainwear spec, procurement teams must understand the physical and geometric differences between Performance Class 2 and Performance Class 3 garments.

Performance Class 2: The Baseline for Moderate Risk

Class 2 garments are designed for environments where workers are exposed to traffic exceeding 25 mph, or where tasks distract them from approaching hazards.

• The Minimums: A Class 2 garment must feature at least 775 square inches of background fabric and 201 square inches of retroreflective material.
• The Silhouette: Class 2 rain jackets typically feature vertical and horizontal reflective bands across the torso. While highly visible from a distance, a Class 2 jacket alone may not provide enough visual information to communicate a full range of human motion when a worker bends over or turns sideways in a heavy storm.

Performance Class 3: Maximum Visibility for High-Hazard Zones

Class 3 compliance is mandated for workers exposed to high-speed traffic, wide ranges of weather conditions, and highly complex backgrounds where the worker’s tasks create a high cognitive load.

• The Minimums: Class 3 garments increase the requirements to a minimum of 1,240 square inches of background material and 310 square inches of reflective material.
• The Game-Changer (Sleeve Reflectivity): A garment cannot be rated Class 3 unless it features retroreflective material on the sleeves.

Why Sleeve Reflectivity is Absolute

In a low-visibility downpour, human-form recognition is everything. When a worker is moving their arms - whether signaling a crane, holding a tool, or directing traffic - the horizontal and vertical movement of reflective bands on the sleeves immediately signals "human" to an oncoming driver or heavy equipment operator.

Without sleeve reflectivity, a worker wearing a rain jacket in a dark storm can blend into a background of stationary reflective signage or orange barrels. The sleeves project the active geometry of a person in motion, which triggers faster reaction times from equipment operators.

The Rainwear Math: Creating a Class 3 Ensemble

Procurement professionals often experience sticker shock when looking at dedicated Class 3 heavy-duty rain jackets. Because of the sheer volume of fluorescent, waterproof fabric and taped reflective seams required to build a standalone Class 3 jacket, these garments can be bulky and expensive.

Fortunately, the ANSI/ISEA 107 standard offers a highly practical, modular solution for industrial outfitting: The Ensemble Rule.

Under the standard, high-visibility trousers, bibs, and shorts are classified as Class E garments. While Class E pants do not meet standalone compliance for roadside work on their own, they act as a multiplier when paired with upper-body garments.

Class 2 Jacket + Class E Pants/Bib = Performance Class 3 Ensemble

By equipping your crew with a Class 2 waterproof rain jacket and a pair of Class E rain pants or bibs, the combined square inches of background and reflective material across the upper and lower body elevate the worker to full Class 3 compliance.

The Strategic Benefits of the Ensemble Approach:

• Cost-Effective Versatility: Workers can wear just the Class 2 rain jacket during lighter, daytime rain when risks are lower, and pull on the Class E pants when a severe downpour drops ambient light levels or when they step into a higher-hazard zone.
• Full-Body Waterproofing: In heavy downpours, a jacket alone ensures that water simply sheds down into the worker’s boots and work pants. Providing the full ensemble keeps workers dry from head to toe, protecting against hypothermia and boosting morale, while simultaneously ensuring peak visibility.

Procurement Checklist: Beyond the Fabric Color

When you are auditing your next industrial rainwear order, look past the bright color and ask the following technical questions:

1. Is the garment certified to ANSI/ISEA 107-2020? Ensure the manufacturer provides a certificate of compliance confirming the square-inch thresholds are met.
2. What is the waterproof rating? Look for rainwear with taped, sealed, or heat-welded seams. High-visibility fabric is useless if the polyurethane or PVC coating fails and saturates the worker within an hour.
3. Does the environment demand a standalone Class 3 jacket? If your workers are operating in tight spaces where they frequently shed layers, or if they do not consistently wear rain pants, invest in standalone Class 3 jackets with full sleeve reflectivity.
4. Have we accounted for dirt and degradation? Rainwater mixed with road grime, mud, and oil quickly degrades the performance of fluorescent fabric and reflective tape. Ensure your procurement cycle accounts for regular replacement or heavy-duty laundering of fouled gear.

Conclusion

When the skies open up and visibility drops to near zero, a high-visibility vest tossed over a standard black rain jacket is a recipe for disaster. Navigating ANSI/ISEA 107 compliance requires understanding how waterproof garments alter a worker's visual profile.

By strategically selecting Class 2 jackets and pairing them with Class E pants - or deploying full Class 3 garments with mandatory sleeve reflectivity - procurement teams can ensure their crews stay dry, remain recognizable as human forms, and return home safely at the end of the shift.

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goSafe's Blog Articles on this topic 

• The Misunderstood Label: Why Relying on ASTM D6413 Can Compromise Worker Safety in Flash Fires & Arc Flashes
• Beyond the Vest: Navigating ANSI/ISEA 107 Class 2 vs. Class 3 Rainwear in Low-Visibility Downpours