Standard explainer · EN 13034
Chemical protective clothing runs from a mist-resistant coverall to a gas-tight suit, and the whole ladder is numbered. EN 13034 — Type 6 — is the bottom rung, and knowing exactly what "bottom rung" covers is the difference between sensible kit and false confidence.
What Type 6 is
EN 13034 (Type 6) certifies clothing against light spray, mist and incidental splash of liquid chemicals — situations where exposure is small, brief, and the wearer can step away and decontaminate promptly. Think splash-adjacent tasks: dosing cleaning chemicals, concrete additives, agricultural spraying at a distance, battery-adjacent maintenance.
The certification tests the fabric's repellency and penetration resistance against reference chemicals, and garments come as coveralls or partial cover (Type PB[6]). Many are treated workwear fabrics — and like all finishes, the repellency has a wash life; industrial disposable Type 5/6 coveralls exist precisely because one-use-then-bin sidesteps that.
The ladder
Higher protection = lower number. Each type is a different garment class, not a better version of the same one.
| Type | Protects against | Typical garment |
|---|---|---|
| Type 6 | Light spray, incidental splash | Splash-rated coveralls — this standard |
| Type 5 | Airborne solid particulates | Disposable coveralls (asbestos-adjacent, dusts) |
| Type 4 | Saturating liquid spray | Sealed-seam spray-tight suits |
| Type 3 | Pressurised liquid jets | Jet-tight chemical suits |
| Type 1–2 | Gas-tight / non-gas-tight environments | Encapsulating suits — specialist territory |
In practice
The honest home of Type 6 is routine work near diluted or low-hazard chemicals — cleaning teams dosing chemicals, groundworkers around concrete admixtures, maintenance staff around lubricants and coolants. It keeps incidental contact off skin and everyday clothing, pairs with chemical-rated gloves and eye protection (field-of-use 3), and gets decontaminated or binned after real contact rather than worn on.
The moment work involves deliberate, sustained or pressurised chemical contact, you've left Type 6's world — that's a risk assessment, an SDS, and a suit further up the ladder.
Questions
Light spray, mists and incidental splashes of liquid chemicals where exposure is brief and the wearer can decontaminate promptly. It's the entry tier of chemical protective clothing — suitable for splash-adjacent work, not for sustained or pressurised contact.
Generally no — substances that injure on contact demand protection chosen from their safety data sheet, usually higher-type garments with sealed seams plus chemical-rated gloves, eye and face protection. Type 6 assumes exposure you can walk away from.
On treated workwear fabrics, the repellent finish has a wash life like any finish — follow the garment's care label and re-treatment guidance. Disposable Type 5/6 coveralls avoid the question by design: one wear, then bin.
Type 5 protects against airborne solid particulates (dusts, fibres); Type 6 against light liquid splash. Many disposable coveralls certify to both at once — the familiar 'Type 5/6' marking — covering dusty and splash-adjacent work in one garment.
Helmets, masks, eye protection, gloves and the rest of the PPE wall, certified and in stock.