How to Select the Proper Emergency Eyewash for Your Workplace

Even though OSHA requires employers to provide the proper eye protection to help prevent injury, incidents that injure eyes still occur. As a matter of fact, more than 700,000 work-related eye injuries occur annually, risking short-term, long-term or even permanent vision loss. Employers who choose the proper eyewash fluid and delivery system can reduce the severity of an eye injury as well as the direct and indirect costs associated with them.

ANSI emergency eyewash safety standards are in place to help ensure that individuals receive the immediate treatment required after an eye injury for the best possible outcome. ANSI always has called for eyewashes to be present at the site of any hazardous material, which is defined as anything that can cause adverse effects on workers' health and safety. The standard requires that eyewashes be made available within a 10-second walk of a hazard, and that a person flush his or her injured eyes for a full 15 minutes. It also details how an emergency eyewash should be delivered in terms of rate of flow, temperature, fluid angle and user's position, as well as station location, installation and maintenance. The latest standard is ANSI Z358.1-2009. This latest version went into effect in January 2009 and makes compliance even easier to understand and follow.

The best way to ensure eyewash compliance in the workplace is by building it into your company's safety plan. Employ a safety manager, assign safety stewards or use a third-party vendor to be responsible for employee training and station maintenance. The appointed safety leader regularly should train staff as a group, as well as new associates as they join, to ensure that everyone is trained and proficient in using emergency eyewash units.

Employees need to know how to reach and activate the unit, and how to properly rinse contaminants from their eyes. The proper flushing technique calls for the worker to hold both eyes open using their forefingers and thumbs and let the fluid rinse across the eyes from the inside corner out continuously for 15 minutes. An injured employee should be instructed to seek follow-up medical care if needed.

THE COST OF NON-COMPLIANCE

Despite ANSI's guidance, approximately half of all businesses required to meet this standard remain in non-compliance — even though the risk is costly.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the financial cost incurred by occupational eye injuries exceeds $934 million per year in both direct costs — such as lost production time, medical expenses and worker compensation — as well as indirect costs. Furthermore, the risk of non-compliance to an employee is immeasurable. The human eye, with 126 million receptors in each retina, is our primary way of experiencing the world and our vision is necessary to perform most jobs.

In order to minimize risk, it's important to know how best to respond to an eye emergency when one occurs. This article will help you determine whether your workplace requires an emergency eyewash. It describes the types of eyewashes available and helps you identify the type that is right for your work environment.

CHOOSING AN EYEWASH STATION

To determine whether a worksite requires emergency eyewash, assess the tasks performed and the hazards they may present. Flying objects, chemicals, harmful vapors and dust can enter the eye through activities such as chipping, grinding or sanding; degreasing, plating and working with blood; and woodworking and buffing.

If workers require personal protective equipment, such as chemical-resistant gloves or goggles, respirators or face shields, the workplace likely requires an emergency eyewash as well. Some surprising places that require eyewashes include hair salons, garden centers and home goods centers. Consult the guidelines set forth by ANSI, OSHA and manufacturers' material safety data sheets (MSDS) to confirm whether your site requires an eyewash.

Planning how and where the eyewash will be used will help determine what type of delivery system is best. What are the most common hazards present? Does the workspace layout change as new jobs commence? Is plumbing readily available at the site of every eye hazard? Once you have determined your needs, there are two types of primary emergency eyewash delivery stations to consider: plumbed and portable.