ISO 4007:2018 (adopted as EN ISO 4007:2018 / EN ISO 4007:2018) is an international vocabulary standard for personal protective equipment (PPE) - eye and face protection. Its scope is limited to defining and explaining the principal terms used in the field of eye and face protection, providing a common language for designers, manufacturers, test laboratories, regulators and safety professionals.
Key facts:
- Third edition (2018), supersedes ISO 4007:2012.
- Focus: terminology and definitions, not performance requirements.
- No normative references; intended as a reference glossary for related PPE standards.
Key topics covered
The standard organizes and defines terms across technical domains relevant to eye and face protection, including:
- Risks and hazards: concepts such as risk, hazard, harm, blue‑light hazard, ultraviolet hazard, retinal thermal hazard.
- Optical radiation: definitions of radiation bands and related vocabulary.
- Sources of non‑ionizing radiation and radiometry/photometry terminology.
- General terms for types and components of eye and face protectors, geometrical properties, and non‑lens parts.
- Special protector types: welding protectors, mesh protectors, secondary lenses and protection from short‑circuit electric arc.
- Optical materials and properties: lens materials, transmittance, reflection, polarization, welding filters.
- Wearer characteristics, test equipment, and a glossary of abbreviations and symbols.
- Informative Annex A on spectral weighting functions and spectral distributions.
Notable editorial updates in this edition:
- The term “ocular” replaced by “lens”.
- Addition of 52 new terms and revision of over 100 definitions.
- Clarified wavelength limits (e.g., UV‑A upper limit may be 380 nm or 400 nm depending on application).
Practical applications - who uses ISO 4007
ISO 4007 is a reference tool that supports consistency and clarity across the PPE ecosystem:
- Manufacturers and designers use the vocabulary when specifying product components and documentation.
- Test laboratories and conformity assessment bodies apply shared definitions in test reports and standards cross‑references.
- Standards committees and technical writers rely on ISO 4007 to harmonize terminology across related standards.
- Procurement officers, safety managers and regulators use consistent terms in specifications, regulations, training and incident reports.
Related standards and references
- Prepared by ISO/TC 94 (Personal safety) in collaboration with CEN/TC 85 (Eye protective equipment).
- References ISO/IEC Guide 51:2014 for safety terminology; users should consult product and performance standards for technical requirements.
Keywords: ISO 4007, EN ISO 4007, eye and face protection vocabulary, PPE eye protection, safety eyewear terminology, optical radiation, welding filters, blue‑light hazard.
