Four years ago on Christmas day, an employee working for a company that recycles lead from used batteries paid dearly for failing to wear personal protective equipment.
 

He had just finished moving a container pot filled with molten metal from a furnace to a cooling area when the pot suddenly exploded just as he was reversing his forklift truck. The molten metal, also known as slag, splashed the worker. When the worker jumped out of the forklift truck to go to an emergency shower wash station, more misfortune struck. He slipped on the slag, and ended up receiving third degree burns to both legs, second degree burns to the back of his neck, and third degree burns on his left palm.

Safety distributors have told us that their customers don't necessarily complain when they dislike a hard hat, earplug or respirator. Instead, they tend to simply stop buying that product and switch to another, without ever giving the manufacturer feedback on how to make personal protective equipment (PPE) safer, more comfortable, more durable, and generally more appealing to workers.