Page 22 - OHS, April 2021

PPE: VISION PROTECTION
Let’s start with the worker. ThThe biggest risk is, of course, injury. Safety eyewear manufacturers frequently receive messages from customers with stories about how eyewear saved their eyes and their lives. Safety eyewear protects workers’ eyes from chemicals, debris, heat and other elements that can impair or totally take away their vision. When accidents happen due to a lack of safety eyewear, workers must deal not only with the injury, but also costs (medical, legal, etc.) associated with the injury and potential lost income in the future.
Some of these costs are passed to the company both directly and indirectly. The U.S. Bureau of Labor estimates that eye injuries cost employers $467 million per year in direct costs. The amount of indirect costs (legal fees, recruiting and training new workers, etc.) is close to $934 million annually, according to NIOSH. NIOSH also estimates that there are an average of 2,000 job-related eye injuries every day.
Even when injury doesn’t occur, fogging eyewear can still cost companies. Workers removing their eyewear can lead to big fines for businesses that are found non-compliant with safety standards. Because eyewear is readily visible, it is an easy violation for inspectors to cite. When workers do wear safety glasses, time and productivity can be lost when they have to take time away from their jobs—sometimes even to go to a safer environment— in order to wipe the fog off their lenses.
Who Needs Anti-Fog Safety Glasses?
ThTherearemanyindustrieswhereworkersbenefifitfromanti- fog safety glasses. At present there is a growing demand in the healthcare industry as medical workers wear full PPE to treat patients and protect themselves from COVID-19. Outside of the healthcare sector, there are several industries who need anti-fog eyewear in pandemic and non-pandemic times.
Construction is a large industry that needs anti-fog safety glasses. Body heat and humid temperatures in the summer months mean that eyewear has a big potential for fogging. Food service and processing plants are another industry that rely on anti-fog eyewear. These plants often have zones of varying temperature and some humid environments. Energy sector workers also benefit greatly from anti-fog safety glasses. Those in the oil and gas industry certainly need anti-fog eyewear—especially those who work in mines with limited airflow and intense conditions.
Anti-fog technology continues to see innovations in order to better serve the workforce. With a growing need for such technology and serious risks at play, anti-fog safety glasses are more important than ever. PPE manufactures are working to expand their anti-fog options and create a diverse selection of eyewear to fit workers in any and every environment.
Katherine Faulk is the Marketing Strategist for Pyramex Safety.
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