EN 943-2 covers the same gas-tight suits but with requirements reflecting the reality of emergency response. Responders cannot choose their environment: they enter a spill of unknown composition, over debris, often in heat.
Additional requirements over EN 943-1
- Higher mechanical strength of the material — tear, puncture and abrasion.
- Limited flame spread and resistance to brief heat exposure.
- A larger panel of chemicals in the permeation testing.
- Retention of flexibility at low temperature.
- Stricter requirements on field of view and visor durability.
Such a suit is marked ET (emergency team). For rescue services that marking is mandatory — an EN 943-1 suit intended for a controlled industrial environment is not adequate for incident response.