This Safety and Health Information Bulletin is not a

standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal

obligations. The Bulletin is advisory in nature,

informational in content, and is intended to assist

employers in providing a safe and healthful workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act

requires employers to comply with hazard-specific

safety and health standards. In addition, pursuant to

Section 5(a)(1), the General Duty Clause of the

Act, employers must provide their employees with

a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to

cause death or serious physical harm. Employers

can be cited for violating the General Duty Clause if

there is a recognized hazard and they do not take

reasonable steps to prevent or abate the hazard.

However, failure to implement any recommendations in this Safety and Health Information Bulletin is

not, in itself, a violation of the General Duty Clause.

Citations can only be based on standards, regulations, and the General Duty Clause.

U. S. Department of Labor

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Directorate of Science, Technology & Medicine

Office of Science and Technology Assessment

SHIB 09-30-2004

Safety and Health Information Bulletin

Potential Hazards of Mislabeled Steel Toe Logger Boots

Purpose

The purpose of this Safety and Health

Information Bulletin is:

1. To alert employers and employees of the

potential electrical hazards of Georgia

Boot’s mislabeled steel toe logger

boots;

2. To provide Georgia Boot customers with

the manufacturer’s recall instructions for

the subject boots; and

3. To remind users of OSHA’s requirements for

electrical protective equipment as covered by

29 CFR 1910.137.

Background

Georgia Boot, a manufacturer of steel toe

safety boots, has discovered that three models of its

logger boots may have been mislabeled “EH,” thus

incorrectly indicating that they are resistant to electrical

current. This may result in an increased risk of electric

shock or electrocution to employees who use these

boots for supplemental protection against electrical

current, since these boots are not designed to provide

insulation or protection against electrical current.

Georgia Boot, of Franklin, Tennessee, in

cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety

Commission (CPSC), has voluntarily recalled

approximately 10,000 pairs of steel toe logger boots.

See CPSC Press Release # 04-177, http://

www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml04/04177.html

issued on July 14, 2004. Since these boots are

industrial steel toe safety boots, it is important to make

employers and employees aware of this potentially

hazardous condition when these boots are used for

supplemental protection against electrical hazards.

The recalled steel toe logger boots are brown and

black and have laces that tie up to the calf. The stock

numbers for these boots are G8320, G8322, and

G9360. The stock numbers can be found on a label

under the tongue of the boot. The same label has

stitching of the “Georgia Boot” name.

These boots were sold in retail shoe stores and

independent retail stores from October 2002 through

April 2004.

Other Information
2

Electrical hazard footwear is constructed to

provide insulation of the wearer’s feet from a

grounded surface. This can provide a small degree of

protection from electric shock for the wearer. This

protection is limited to voltage of 600 volts or less

under dry conditions and is intended to be a secondary form of electrical insulation.1 Using electrical

hazard footwear as a primary form of electrical

protection could expose employees to electric shock

hazards if they believe that the primary form of

electrical protection (for example, rubber insulating

gloves or blankets) is no longer necessary. The

electrical hazard footwear only insulates an

Conclusion

OSHA reminds employers that employees

exposed to electrical hazards must use suitable

electrical protective equipment as required by OSHA

standards and recommends that employers follow the

recall instructions for these mislabeled steel toe logger

boots listed on the manufacturer’s website.

http://www.georgiaboot.com/content/

index.cfm?method=productnotice050406.

Technical Information

1

Primary insulation normally insulates an employee directly from

an energized part. Rubber insulating gloves and rubber insulation

blankets are examples of primary electrical protection. Secondary

insulation normally insulates an employee’s feet from a grounded

surface. Electrical hazard footwear and rubber insulating matting are

examples of secondary electrical protection.

employee’s feet from grounded surfaces. The employee can still be grounded through other parts of his

or her body. In addition, the insulation provided by

electrical hazard footwear is good only under dry

conditions, providing little protection in a wet or damp

environment, and only for ratings of 600 volts or less.

Employees exposed to electrical hazards need to use

suitable electrical protective equipment as covered by

OSHA standards including 29 CFR 1910.137;29

CFR 1910.269(l); and 29 CFR 1926.950(c).

Georgia Boot has not received any reports of

incidents. The CPSC/Georgia Boot recall is

conducted to prevent the possibility of injuries.