according to the navy electrostatic discharge training manual, "in order to limit residual voltages caused by static generation at a typical ESD-grounded workbench to approximately 10 v, the maximum resistance to hand ground should not exceed 10 m ohms" (ref 3). this upper limit was presumably set to establish a two-second decay time for an electrostatic discharge from a person and is based on the RC time constant used for the human-body model as shown in FIG 10-1 of that document. the minimum resistance to ground is governed by personnel safety considerations.