Page 89 - Occupational Health & Safety, June 2019

VISION PROTECTION
Eyes on the Prize: No Injuries
Workers in a wide variety of industries depend on vision protection
that complies with ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2015, American National Standard
for Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices. BY JERRY LAWS
www.ohsonline.com
JUNE 2019 | Occupational Health & Safety 85
Eye injuries in the workplace are very com- mon. The American Optometric Associa- tion1 and other authorities cite NIOSH as the source for the estimate that every day, ap-
proximately 2,000 U.S. workers suffer job-related eye injuries that require medical treatment. As many as 90 percent of the injuries could be prevented, or made less severe, by wearing the right eye protection.
Chemicals or foreign objects in the eye and cuts or scrapes on the cornea are common eye injuries that occur at work. Other common eye injuries come from splashes with grease and oil, burns from steam, ultra- violet or infrared radiation exposure, flying wood or metal chips, and, among health care workers, the pos- sibility of blood spatter and the potential risk of ac- quiring infectious diseases from eye exposure. Other common causes for workplace eye injuries include fly- ing objects from equipment operation, tools, and even falling objects.
Occupations considered to have a high risk for eye injuries include:
■ Construction
■ Welding
■ Carpentry
■ Auto repair
■ Manufacturing
■ Maintenance
■ Plumbing
■ Electrical work
Sustaining an eye injury, especially one that leads
to permanent vision loss, can have devastating out- comes for the injured worker and his or her fam- ily. When vision is impaired, the individual’s quality of life and ability to work are affected, which is why preventing eye injuries should be a priority for every safety professional in these and other industries.
Workers sustain eye injuries on the job for two main reasons:
1. They aren’t wearing eye protection.
2. They are wearing the wrong kind of protection for the job.
According to AOA, a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of workers who suffered eye injuries revealed that nearly three out of five were not wearing eye pro- tection at the time they were hurt, with the workers most often reporting that they believed protection was not required for the situation.
Any employee working in, near, or passing through eye risk areas should wear protective eye- wear. The type of eye protection to specify depends on the hazards in the workplace, so performing a job hazard analysis (JHA) is crucially important. If the job site has flying objects, particles, or dust, safety glasses with side protection (side shields) should be worn. Employees working with or near chemicals should wear goggles.
Once the JHA has been completed, employers can use the hierarchy of controls approach for controlling the hazards by elimination (most effective), substitu- tion, engineering controls, administrative controls, or through the use of the appropriate personal protective equipment (least effective).
OSHA requires workers to use eye and face protec- tion whenever there is a reasonable probability of in- jury that could be prevented by such equipment. Per- sonal protective eyewear, such as goggles, faceshields, safety glasses, or full-face respirators, must be used when an eye hazard exists. The necessary eye protec- tion depends on the type of hazard, the circumstances of exposure, other protective equipment used, and in- dividual vision needs.
Selecting Vision PPE
Personal protective equipment should be used when other safety controls are not practical or may be used in addition to other controls.
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