An Eye Opener

Did you know that over 1,000 eye injuries occur every day? So, that will be about 365,000 this year. Of that number, 100,000 will result in disability due to temporary or permanent vision loss. Here’s the eye opener—experts believe that in at least 90% of all accidents, proper eye protection can prevent the injury, or reduce its severity. This, according to Prevent Blindness America (PBA), a volunteer health organization working to promote eye safety through education and
research.

Eye injuries can be terribly traumatic and costly, both to the individual who suffers the accident and to the employer. In fact, PBA estimates "the total direct and indirect costs of disabling eye injuries in the workplace each year are more than $1.25 billion (including workers’ compensation, medical payments, production slowdowns, etc.)."¹ Of course, the cost to the individual who loses his or her vision is much higher.

Goggle Chic

Preventative measures, including proper protective eyewear, are crucial to reducing the number of eye injuries. In a recent poll conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, three out of five workers who suffered an eye injury said they wore no eye protection, and of those who did, 40% wore the wrong kind.

So, of the roughly 1,000 workers who will be injured today, we can expect that about 840 of them won’t be sporting the simple safety goggles that could have saved them from injury.

Most employers and supervisors wonder, when should workers wear safety eyewear, and in what parts of the workplace? Eye experts recommend wearing safety goggles "whenever there is any chance that machines or operations present the hazard of flying objects, chemicals, harmful radiation, or a combination of these or other hazards."² If you are a supervisor or an employer and happen to pass through areas that pose such eye hazards, you too should wear safety goggles.

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The eye protection standards require industrial-thickness glass, plastic, or polycarbonate lenses. Glass lenses are extremely scratch-resistant and can withstand chemical exposure. More importantly, they can accommodate a wide range of prescriptions. Unfortunately, glass is heavy and uncomfortable, so workers often sacrifice safety for comfort.

One solution is to use plastic or polycarbonate lenses that are not only lighter in weight, but also less likely to fog. However, these lenses are not as scratch-resistant as glass, unless specially coated. Also, unlike glass lenses, they cannot accommodate a broad range of prescriptions. In terms of sheer strength and impact resistance, polycarbonate lenses are superior to both glass and plastic lenses.

These choices allow employers to select appropriate equipment that matches the needs of specific jobs and employees. And, eye protection has been proven to work. In fact, the Wise Owl Program, which has been running for over 50 years, has given special recognition to more than 84,000 people whose sight was saved by wearing proper eye protection.

Establish Safety Guidelines

Buying the equipment is only the first step, and putting the plan into action requires coordination and consistency. PBA has distilled decades of experience into simple safety guidelines, which are useful to set up a comprehensive eye safety program.

A program should begin with a thorough assessment of operations, with special attention to work areas, access routes, and equipment. This can help you identify hazardous operations and areas.

It is imperative to select protective lenses designed for a specific operation or hazard, and it goes without saying that the eyewear must meet the current standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and its subsequent revisions. Do not buy identical eyewear for all the employees.

Studies show that workers do not use protection unless it fits properly and comfortably. To ensure this, have it fitted by an eye care professional, or perhaps your own employee who is trained in the skill. It is also a good idea to "provide the means for maintenance, and require each worker to be responsible for his or her own eyewear."³

Experience shows that mandatory use of eye protection throughout the organization is more effective than a targeted program, which applies only to certain jobs or departments.

An important, but often neglected, aspect should be the incorporation of vision testing into preplacement and routine physicals. Uncorrected vision problems can cause accidents.

Eye safety should be a part of employee orientation, and the employer should conduct ongoing educational programs to reinforce the need for protective eyewear.

If you don’t do it, they won’t do it. As a manager, supervisor, or employer, you have to set the example by donning protective eyewear wherever and whenever
required.

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You should put your safety program in writing, and display a copy of the safety policy in areas frequented by employees. Also, don’t forget to include the information in your facility’s policy and procedure manual and a copy of it in the employee orientation package.

Lastly, review your prevention strategies periodically. Experts say programs should aim to eliminate accidents and injuries, not merely reduce them.

Where is Emergency Equipment Needed?

Even with the best policies in place, accidents can still happen. So, employers are also responsible under the ANSI Z358.1 standard to provide eyewash devices and/or drench showers.

Since eye tissue is extremely delicate, response time for flushing the eye is critical. "Aside from general tissue damage, acids and alkalis can change the pH in the eye itself,"⁴ causing severe eye damage, including blindness. Unless flushing begins within ten seconds of injury, permanent vision impairment becomes extremely likely. For this reason eyewash stations should be placed less than ten seconds away from the work area.

As an employer, you are required to conduct a "walk-through" survey of all the work areas to assess when and where emergency equipment is required, particularly eyewash stations and drench showers.

What exactly should you look for when you conduct the survey? Well, start by identifying all hazardous material in your facility, taking into account temperature, concentration, and reaction time. Then, consider where your existing emergency eyewash devices are in relation to the hazards, measuring distance in terms of feet and also seconds. The next step is to determine how many employees are exposed to a particular hazard at a given time. Using all the information you have gathered, choose appropriate emergency equipment for each area.

There are three main types of eyewash devices. Personal eyewash devices provide less than 15 minutes of flushing time. They are used to support, not replace, self-contained or plumbed devices. Self-contained eyewash devices provide 15 minutes of flushing time of an independent solution supply. These do not require plumbing. Plumbed eyewash devices provide a continuous flow of flushing for at least 15 minutes at 3 gallons per minute for eyewashes, and 30 gallons per minute for drench showers."⁵

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The Fine Print on ANSI Mandates

The ANSI Z358.1 standard states that emergency eyewash equipment must "deliver tepid water/solution for at least 15 minutes at a minimum flow of 0.4 gallons per minute. Flow regulators must be installed in order to control water speed and temperature to avoid further injury."⁶ The standard further requires that the nozzles of the eyewash devices should be no less than 33 inches from the floor, but no more than 45 inches to ensure easy access.

Other requirements that you should keep in mind when choosing equipment include freeze protection when the possibility of freezing temperatures exists, absence of sharp projections in the area of the emergency unit, and protection of nozzles from airborne contaminants. Also, these devices should be well marked to ensure high visibility, and if you are installing more than one device, uniformity is essential to avoid confusion during an emergency.

In terms of drench showers, ANSI mandates that the showerheads should be "positioned so the flushing liquid column is no less than 82 inches, and no more than 96 inches, from the floor."⁷ A minimum of 20 gallons per minute is required. It is recommended that showers have flow regulators and tempered water valves for compensating fluctuations in water temperature and pressure.

The governing regulations can be confusing and it might be worth hiring a certified safety professional to guide you through planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Footnotes

1. Stander, Valerie, Providing Proper Equipment. (Go to www.ohsonline.com and click on Site Search link to access this web site’s archives. You can search by author’s name or article title.)

2. Workplace Safety, www.preventblindness.org/safety/worksafe.html.

3. Wise Owl program, www.preventblindness.org/safety/wise_owl.html.

4. Roll, David & Duffie, Ken, Eyewash Standards & Guidelines for the Workplace. (Go to www.ohsonline.com and click on Site Search link to access this web site’s archives. You can search by author’s name or article title.)

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.