Introduction:
In workplaces with chemical splashes, flying debris, or radiant energy, eye and face protection is essential. To reduce injuries, departments and workers need the right protective gear for different environments. Each safety device, from glasses to welding helmets, prevents accidents. However, choosing and maintaining this gear is just as important as using it to ensure optimal performance when needed.
Risks to the eyes and face
The following are some risks that workers may face when they shield their eyes and faces.
- Chemical and living things
- Mist or dust
- Splashes of water
- Very hot and very cold
- Things in the air
- A blow or an explosion
- Radiation
Important Things to Know
When employees are near eye or face hazards, they must wear the right eye or face protection.
On the frame of eye and face protection, you must be able to see the name of the manufacturer and the ANSI Z87 standard.
Protection for your eyes and face must meet ANSI Z87.1, which stands for the “American National Standard Practice of Occupational and Education Eye and Face Protection.”
You can wear safety glasses over prescription lenses, and they shouldn’t get in the way of other safety gear.
People can buy safety glasses that are designed to correct their vision with a prescription.
How to Protect Your Eyes and Face
Safety Glasses
Standard safety glasses are made of metal or plastic and have impact-resistant glass or plastic lenses. They are meant to protect you from light to moderate impacts and flying objects.
Safety glasses must have lenses that won’t break, frames that won’t break when they get hit, and side protection. If they meet the ANSI standards, side protectors that can be taken off, like clip-on or slide-on shields, are fine.
When working with electricity, you must not wear safety glasses with metal frames.
The worker is in charge of getting any prescriptions for glasses or contacts.
Some problems:
Standard safety glasses can get broken if they get hit by something. Also, they are easier to take off than other eye protection.
When you splash something in the face with your safety glasses on, the liquid can still get into your eyes.
Safety glasses don’t protect against vapours or particles in the air.
Prescription Safety Glasses help and ordering details.
Safety glasses
When you put on safety goggles, they cover your eyes, eye sockets, and the area around your eyes on your face. They also protect your eyes from dust, splashes, and impacts.
You can wear safety glasses over prescription glasses.
You can get safety goggles with frames that are perforated, port-vented, or not vented at all.If you need to protect your eyes from vapour or airborne particles or when working with liquids that might splash, you should wear safety goggles.
Some problems:
Face shields can fog up when safety glasses are worn.
Face shields cover the whole face and protect it from many dangers, like flying objects, chemical splashes, arc flashes, UV rays, and extreme heat.
Face shields that are rated for impact can be worn alone or over primary eye protection like safety glasses or goggles when there is a chance of flying objects or fragments, hot sparks from furnace work, molten metal splashes or very high or very low temperatures.
Some problems:
Some face shields aren’t made to protect against impacts.
Face shields do not protect against hazards in the air.
Shields for welding
Welding shields are made of fibreglass or vulcanised fibre and have a lens that filters light. The shield assemblies are made up of a body made of vulcanised fibre or glass fibre, an adjustable headgear or cap attachment that can be a ratchet or a button, and a holder for the filter and cover plate.
Welding shields keep your eyes from getting burned by infrared or very strong radiant energy. When you weld, braze, or solder, flying sparks, metal spatter, and slag chips can hurt your eyes and face. Welding shields protect both.
OSHA says that welding shield filter lenses need to have the right shade number to protect against the dangers of the job. This is done to keep workers safe from harmful light radiation.
Helmets for welding
When you weld, torch braze, torch solder, resistance weld, bare or shielded electrical arc weld, or use oxy-acetylene, your eyes and face are protected from infrared or radiant light burns, flying sparks, metal splatter, and slag chips.
Welding helmets should only be worn over safety glasses or goggles that protect the eyes first. Always do what the maker tells you to do.
Some problems:
Welding helmets don’t protect against particles in the air.
The only part of a welding helmet that protects against head impacts is the face.
Safety glasses or goggles for lasers
Laser safety glasses or goggles protect your eyes from the intense light that lasers produce.
Which laser safety glasses or goggles to use depends on the laser equipment and how it is being used.
Safety Gear for the Eyes for Electrical Visibility
The Electrical Safety website has information on Appendix G PPE Body Protection Information, which talks about electrical safety gear for the eyes.
How to Store and Take Care of
Always clean, store, and take care of things according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Keep things away to avoid damage and scratches.
- Do not store things that could be exposed to direct sunlight or high temperatures.
- Check before using.
- Broken or damaged equipment should be thrown away.
- Pitted or deeply scratched lenses are more likely to break when hit, so they should be thrown away and replaced.
- Follow the directions on the eye and face protection to clean them. If you don’t have access to the manufacturer’s instructions, clean it with a moderate amount of water and mild soap. Rinse it well and let it dry naturally.
- Before giving it to someone else, PPE that has been used by other staff should be cleaned and sanitised. When cleaning, follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Conclusion:
Safety gear protects, but it has limits. Safety glasses may fog, face shields may not protect against airborne threats, and helmets may only partially cover. Regular inspection and maintenance can reduce these issues, but they cannot guarantee safety. Workers must be vigilant, departments must prioritise safety standards, and both must accept that risks can never be eliminated.
