It was so very nice of several of you to make reference to OSHA and NFPA 70E.....unfortunately, those references are, well, irrelevant. So, it turns out, is the NESC.
Our poster said the DOE inspector.....so this was somewhere that the DOE- and not OSHA- had jurisdiction. I suspect the jurisdiction of the DOE is severely limited, probably to their facilities alone.
A look at the appropriate DOE standard (DOE-HDBK-1092-98) shows that the DOE requires, for work above 600 volts and under 15KV, the following PPE:
(If jacking a breaker out), jacking tools, safety glasse, gloves, sleeves, and fire resistant clothing;
(If pulling fuses), fuse puller, hot stick, safety glasses AND face shield,gloves, sleeves, mat, and fire resistant clothing.
A big thank you to Mike Holt, who ran down this material for us!
