Page 24 - Occupational Health & Safety, May 2017

EMERGENCY SHOWERS & EYEWASH
Even “minor” eye injuries can cause lifelong vision problems, and there are hundreds of eye injuries every day in the United States, NIOSH’s online Eye Safety Tool Box Talk Instructor’s Guide points out.
■ Is the emergency equipment installed as the manufacturer’s instructions recommend?
■ Can employees who may be exposed to hazardous chemi- cals reach the equipment within 10 seconds from the location of the hazard?
■ Is the equipment on the same level as the hazard area, and is the path between them unobstructed?
■ Is a highly visible sign in place indicating the location of the emergency equipment?
■ Is it delivering tepid flushing fluid?
■ Does the fluid flow rate meet the requirements of the equip- ment being tested?
■ Does the valve remain open without the use of the operator’s hands?
Tallying Eye Injuries
Even “minor” eye injuries can cause lifelong vision problems, and there are hundreds of eye injuries every day in the United States, NIOSH’s online Eye Safety Tool Box Talk Instructor’s Guide3 points
out. It recommends following the hierarchy of controls for prevent- ing them—using engineering and administrative controls rather than relying solely on personal protective equipment.
How many eye injuries are we talking about? During 2014, sprains, strains, and tears were the leading injury in private indus- try and state and local government in the United States, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were 420,870 lost- time cases in that year, and 23,730 of those were eye injury cases— an average of 65 lost-time eye injury cases every day. But we know most of those were not cases where employees suffered eye injuries caused by corrosives and could have availed themselves of eyewash and shower equipment. Only 3,750 of the lost-time cases during the year were classified as chemical burns, according to BLS.4
Freelance author Fred Elliott (Austin, TX) writes frequently on workplace safety and health topics.
REFERENCES
1. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/
2. https://safetyequipment.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/EWS-Guide-
Feb_2015.pdf
3. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/eye/toolbox-eye.html
4. https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/type-of-injury-or-illness-and-body- parts-affected-by-nonfatal-injuries-and-illnesses-in-2014.htm
DON’T INSTALL JUST ANYTHING
The Optimus Emergency Station is the world’s first fixture to feature both a dual eyewash and a full-coverage facewash.
Plus, Optimus is 100% ANSI/ISEA Z358.1 Certified, configures to ADA specifications, and can be wall mounted, pedestal mounted, or combined with an emergency shower.
Become compliant at speakman.com/emergency
PROTECTIVE DUST COVER
DUAL-AERATED EYEWASH
DEDICATED FACEWASH
SE-1000 with optional OCV dust cover
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www.ohsonline.com
Circle 18 on card.