If you are having trouble getting your workers to wear required eye protection, try opening their eyes with some of these statistics from workplaceeyesafety.org and BLR’s OSHA Required Training for Supervisors newsletter.
- More than 800,000 work-related eye injuries occur every year (that’s about 2,000 a day).
- Many of these injuries are temporarily disabling and some result in permanent loss of vision.
- Most eye injuries occur in production jobs, followed by transportation, material handling, and service industry jobs. Construction workers are also at risk of eye injuries.
- Men are the most likely to have eye injuries on the job. Some estimates indicate that 80 percent or more of all workplace eye injuries happen to men.
- Workers aged 25 to 34 are more likely to have eye injuries than any other age group, followed closely by workers aged 35 to 44.
And here’s one more very important fact provided by BLR’s OSHA Required Training for Supervisors newsletter: OSHA says that at least 90 percent of all workplace eye injuries can be prevented through the use of proper eye protection.
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Why So Many Injuries?
OSHA says there are two main reasons:
1. Workers weren’t wearing any eye protection. By some estimates, as many as three out of five injured workers weren’t wearing eye protection at the time of their accident.
2. Workers were wearing the wrong kind of protection. In other words, the eyewear didn’t adequately protect against the specific hazard they faced.
What Causes Most Injuries?
Most industrial eye injuries are the result of flying particles, a majority of which are smaller than a pinhead. In addition, eye injuries may be caused by:
- Chemical splashes, vapors, or dust
- Being struck by or bumping into an object
- Sparks or molten metal and other hot liquid splashes
- Effects of light radiation from welding and similar operations
Healthcare workers and first-aid responders are also at risk for blood splashes, which can allow bloodborne pathogens to enter the body through the eyes.
What Protection Is Needed?
Train your employees on which safety eyewear protects against which hazards. Generally, goggles provide the best all-around protection against eye hazards. Regular safety glasses are adequate for many jobs, but not all. Here’s what to wear for specific risks:
- Safety glasses with side shields or goggles provide good protection against impact hazards like flying particles.
- Safety goggles prevent dust and chemical splashes and vapors from getting into the eyes.
- A face shield worn over goggles provides extra protection from flying particles, chemical splashes, and burns from sparks and hot substances.
- Welding goggles with special lenses protect eye tissue by filtering out harmful light radiation.
How Can You Prevent Injuries?
To prevent workplace eye injuries:
- Identify all possible eye hazards in the work areas and jobs you supervise.
- Post warning signs in conspicuous places about eye hazards and the need for eye protection.
- Provide the proper eye protection for every job, and make sure workers use it.
- Train employees to recognize eye hazards and to use and maintain eye protection properly.
- Enforce eye safety rules strictly.
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But you can’t do it all alone. You need the cooperation of your employees. Train them to:
- Obey workplace warning signs requiring eye protection.
- Always put on protective eyewear before entering an area where hazards may be present.
- Choose safety eyewear that provides maximum protection against hazards.
- Assume eye hazards are present when in doubt.
- Make sure eye protection fits properly and comfortably.
- Inspect protective eyewear before each use, and replace immediately if there are any defects.
- Know where eyewash stations are located and how to use them effectively to flush eyes.
- Know basic first aid for eye injuries of all kinds.
- Store protective eyewear safely where it won’t get scratched or damaged, and keep it clean.
- Ask you before they start a job if they’re not sure which type of eye protection is necessary.
- Report potential eye hazards to you immediately.
Tomorrow we’ll look at the proper selection, wear, and care of eye protection.