Sorry if this is an old one doing the rounds again.....Several key members of the organisation have recently been telling staff (and so it's got round very quickly) that steel toe cap boots/shoes are very dangerous and shouldn't be worn anymore. Apparently we are to use composite now. [they're not part of the safety team, but are across the management, I think it must have come up in a management meeting at somepoint] Have I missed an article or recent accident somewhere? Or is this likely to be the old rumour coming round again?

Is is following the recent episode of Mythbusters on Quest channel? I remember inwardly groaning when I saw the programme due to the misunderstandings it might create. They discovered that dropping a weighted blade on a steel toecap could result in the blade bouncing off the toecap and subsequently falling behind it, potentially severing the foot. What they however failed to show was the mess made if ordinary footwear was subjected to the same test. Neither did they subject composite toecaps to the test.

Do they mean (or did the rumour start as meaning) exposed steel toe-caps? Some organisations prohibit exposed conductive toecaps - eg Network Rail Level 2 standard NR/L2/OHS/021 Issue 3 requires "Safety footwear which complies with BS EN ISO 20345: 2004, provides support to the ankle, includes mid-sole protection, and has a protective toe cap. Where used, steel or other conductive toe caps shall be covered."

This has come up at one or two of my clients where they worry about exposed steel toe caps creating sparks in ATEX or explosive areas such as a sugar refinery but not as a response to any potential issues regarding the use of steel toe capped footwear in general.

First, I know of no good reason why steel toe caps should not be worn, indeed in some industries it is mandatory. However, where the steel is exposed due to damage or wear this could create an additional hazard. For example - railway maintenance workers who might come into contact with live rails when working on or about the track.

Thanks for all your responses. From what I can gather, they were concerned it would sever their toes! So I think it is the old rumour. For our work we're mainly looking at heavier items dropping or rolling over toes. We're not in a high risk industry, and don't use machinery etc. It's all fairly low level.

Steel toe caps will only 'sever' your toes if subjected to a weight / impact of such proportions that any flesh & blood survival would be impossible. They don't just 'sever your toes' if you put the boots on and walk about. I too saw the mythbusters test. They did find that if a massive edge or 'blade' were to hit the upper portion of the toecap, there was a potential for the steel to divert the force to the very edge of the toecap, where it 'slid' off and then went through the unprotected foot above the toes. The point was that this type of massive and focussed weight would crush and amputate anything less resistant than steel anyway. Such as a normal shoe, flesh and bone, etc.

Myth busted. Your toes are gone anyway.