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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Occupational Requirements Survey > Publications > Factsheets

Personal protective equipment

The Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS) publishes job-related information on physical demands; environmental conditions; education, training, and experience; as well as cognitive and mental requirements. The job requirements reflect those necessary for workers to perform critical tasks in support of the critical job functions, and not the capabilities of individual workers.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is equipment used or worn to minimize exposure to serious workplace injuries and illnesses. ORS provides the percentage of workers using PPE to mitigate exposures to four environmental conditions: hazardous contaminants, heights, noise intensity, and moving mechanical parts. PPE may fully or partially mitigate exposure to the environmental conditions. When the environmental condition is only partially mitigated by PPE or no PPE is used, then ORS captures the duration of the workday that exposures are present.

Hazardous contaminants are substances that have a negative impact upon respiration, eyes, skin, or other living tissue. Exposures to hazardous contaminants are considered present when it is expected that workers will be exposed to them even when the job is done properly. Biohazards such as blood and other bodily fluids are not considered hazardous contaminants.

Automotive service technicians may be exposed to fumes from grease, oil, gas, and engine exhaust while working and they may be expected to wear a respirator to mitigate this exposure. In 2025, 62.4 percent of automotive service technicians and mechanics were exposed to hazardous contaminants and 47.2 percent used PPE to mitigate exposure to hazardous contaminants. For 6.2 percent of automotive service technicians and mechanics, PPE was used and the exposure to hazardous contaminants was fully mitigated.

Heights, also referred to as high, exposed places, are present when workers are at risk of bodily injury from falling several feet and no walls or railings surround the workers to lessen the possibility of falling. PPE for heights includes safety harnesses and tethers; however, safety harnesses and tethers do not always remove the possibility of injury.

Construction laborers may need to climb ladders and would be exposed to heights. In 2025, 35.1 percent of construction laborers were exposed to heights and 19.3 percent used PPE to mitigate exposure.

Proximity to moving mechanical parts is present when either a worker is operating mechanical equipment that presents a risk of bodily injury when used properly or machinery, equipment, or any moving object in the worker’s vicinity could cause bodily injury.

Construction laborers are exposed to moving mechanical parts when they are using power saws, electric drills, or nail guns. The use of protective eyewear or machine guards are a few types of PPE used to protect workers from moving mechanical parts but may not completely remove the potential for injury. In 2025, 45.9 percent of construction laborers were in proximity of moving mechanical parts and exposure to moving mechanical parts was fully mitigated by PPE for less than five percent.

Noise intensity is the amount of noise that workers experience while working. Workers may wear PPE such as ear plugs or noise canceling headsets to mitigate exposure to noise. Noise exposure estimates reflect the level of noise experienced by workers while wearing PPE as long as PPE is required or typically worn. If noise exposure is eliminated by PPE, then the noise level is quiet. Among automotive service technicians and mechanics, 94.0 percent experienced moderate noise levels and 36.9 percent of workers used PPE to mitigate noise exposure.

Noise intensity levels and example work environments
Noise intensity level	Typical work environments for each noise level
Quiet	Golf course, art museum
Moderate	Business office, department store, fast food restaurant
Loud	Near heavy traffic or large earth moving equipment
Very loud	Rock concert, rocket engine testing area
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey

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For additional information on occupational requirements see the ORS homepage or download the ORS complete dataset to explore the latest estimates.

Last Modified Date: August 13, 2026