EN 61340 is the series of standards governing electrostatic discharge (ESD). Here the thing being protected is not the person but the electronic component: an integrated circuit can be damaged by a 100 V discharge that a person cannot even feel.
The key part: EN 61340-5-1
This part defines the requirements for an ESD Protected Area (EPA): every surface, item of equipment and person must be held at the same potential so that no charge difference can build up.
Personnel equipment
- ESD footwear — resistance between 10⁵ and 10⁸ ohms; it drains static without being so conductive as to create a shock risk.
- An ESD smock or coat — with a conductive fibre grid that shields the charge on the wearer's own clothing.
- A wrist strap earthed through a resistor — the most reliable arrangement for seated work.
- ESD gloves and finger cots for direct handling of components.
How this differs from EN 1149-5
EN 1149-5 protects the person and the environment from an explosion; EN 61340 protects the component from the person. The requirements differ — ESD clothing is not automatically suitable in an explosive atmosphere, and vice versa. Where both risks exist, the garment needs both certifications.
