Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 15 Chapter 2 ∣ Shop Safety and Environmental Protection water-covered floor. The shoe or boot should have enough support to allow you to stand for the entire day on concrete floors, which are common to most shops. Open-toe shoes, sandals, and athletic shoes are not considered appropriate footwear. Maintain a professional appearance. Always wear a clean, pressed uniform. Keep yourself neat and clean and practice good hygiene. If you wear your hair long, tie it back or secure it under a hat for safety. Wash your hands regularly and keep your fingernails clean. This helps small cuts, nicks, and abrasions on your hands to heal with less risk of infection and gives a good appearance. Protective Equipment To prevent the absorption of solvent and other chemicals into your skin while cleaning parts, wear a pair of protec- tive gloves, such as chemical-resistant gloves. Wear thick insulated gloves when working with hot parts, such as exhaust pipes. For other work, wear mechanic gloves. Rub- ber disposable gloves are useful for dirty jobs, such as air filter oiling, oil draining, and brake work. Wear safety glasses, goggles, or a face shield during all operations involving drilling, grinding, welding, using a cold chisel, or any time you feel unsure about the safety of your eyes. See Figure 2-2. Wear protective eyewear when- ever you are cleaning a part with compressed air. In fact, it is best to wear your safety glasses any time you are working in the shop. Eyeglasses are not guaranteed to be shatter- proof and usually lack side shields. If you wear prescription glasses, consider upgrading to these features or wear pro- tection over your glasses. Wear hearing protection, such as earplugs or earmuffs, whenever you are exposed to loud noise, such as the noise created during dynamometer test runs or engine testing with loud exhausts. See Figure 2-3. While damage may not occur right away, hearing loss can occur gradually over years of exposure. Wear respirators or disposable masks, depending on the airborne contaminants encountered, Figure 2-4. Examples of airborne contaminants include brake dust, epoxies, battery vapors, and fuel vapors. Goodheart-Willcox Publisher Figure 2-2. Typical face and eye protection that should be worn when working in the motorcycle shop. A—Safety glasses. B—Safety goggles. C—Face shield. Other types of eye protection are available for specific jobs. A B C A B Goodheart-Willcox Publisher Figure 2-3. Hearing protection should be worn when working in a noisy environment. A—Earmuff-type hearing protection. B—Earplugs. Goodheart-Willcox Publisher Figure 2-4. Respirators, such as the one shown above, will help prevent the inhalation of airborne contaminants.