Page 44 - OHS, July/August 2022

EMERGENCY SHOWERS & EYEWASH
Five Common Pitfalls to Avoid with Emergency Safety Showers and Eyewashes
Don’t let these common mistakes allow your emergency equipment to suffer.
WBY RYAN PFUND
orksite hazards involving harmful chemicals, dusty conditions and flammable materials present fluctuating risks and challenges to employees. While emergency safety showers and eyewashes can help
abate these hazards, there are unfortunately several common areas involved with the installation, operation and maintenance of emergency shower equipment that can fall by the wayside and hinder their performance in an emergency.
Specifically, it’s crucial to regularly evaluate—and recheck— the performance, placement and sterility of equipment to ensure ANSI/ISEA compliance and efficacy when needed.
The following are some of the most common mistakes made with emergency equipment, along with strategies for avoiding them in the first place:
Failing to Perform Weekly Testing and Activations
According to ANSI/ISEA Z358.1–2014 American National Standard for Emergency Eyewash and Shower Equipment, emergency drench showers, eyewashes and eye/face washes must be activated one time per week.1 Weekly testing and activations may seem like time-consuming and laborious tasks but they are just as important as they are necessary.
Safety equipment must work properly in supplying tepid water when needed. Unless the product is activated on a weekly basis, water stagnating in the supply piping may not be clean. Weekly activation ensures the product is properly functioning and safe for the person to use when needed. This activation makes sure that nothing is blocking the flow of the flushing fluid and eliminates any chance of contamination from stagnant water. The fixture needs to be activated long enough to ensure proper flushing fluid is available and to clear the line of any sediment build-up. (A longer and more thorough evaluation should be conducted once per year.)
Inspection tags are often included with fixtures to document testing and to satisfy a safety audit. To further help assist in testing, manufacturers offer a variety of specially designed devices.
Neglecting to Check Proper Locations
At least yearly, it’s important to conduct site evaluations to pinpoint at-risk areas, potential hazards and emergency needs. In particular, pay attention to product location relative to hazards to ensure they are easily seen and accessed.
Consider these guidelines, which reflect the ANSI/ISEA Z358.1-2014 standard:
■ Fixtures must be within 55 feet of a potential hazard and take no more than 10 seconds to reach. Access to the fixture must not be obstructed.
■ Equipment must be on the same level as the hazard. A door can be considered an obstruction; however, if the hazard
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is not caustic, one door can be present provided it swings in the direction of travel and it cannot be locked.
■ The height of the eyewash flow pattern should be between 33 and 53 inches, and measured from the floor to the water flow. ■ If a potential chemical spill in an area can affect multiple
workers, enough fixtures should be in place for all to access.
■ If corrosive chemicals are used, the drench shower or
eyewash should be placed immediately adjacent to the hazard.
■ All equipment must be identified in a well-lit area with highly visible signage, e.g., bright yellow; fixtures should be able
to be activated in less than one second.
Conducting a walk-through of facilities with a health or safety
expert can help determine proper placement and types of fixtures for each location. Manufacturers often conduct free site surveys to ensure proper placement and other best practices for ANSI/ ISEA compliance.
InabilitytoProvideTepidWater
According to the current revision of ANSI/ISEA Z358.1, water supplied to eyewash and drench showers needs to be potable and tepid. Tepid water is defined as 60 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 16 to 38 degrees Celsius. This temperature will need to be present throughout the entire 15-minute drench. The cold supply may seem warm enough at first activation because the water in the supply line is at room temperature but eventually over the 15-minute drench it will likely turn to a colder ground water temperature. Using a dependable delivery system of tepid flushing fluid encourages a full 15-minute flush of the injured area.
Using technology such as thermostatic mixing valves or electric tankless water heaters helps ensure that tepid water is supplied in a dependable and efficient manner for the entire 15-minute duration.
Dirty or Unclean Eyewash and Drench Showers
It’s important to keep eye/face wash systems clean and bacteria- free. Compounding the problem is that when the product isn’t activated on a weekly basis, stagnant water can harbor bacteria or sediment that you would not want to enter the eyes during use.
While facility managers can avoid false activation issues by installing an eyewash alarm system, newer eyewash designs come equipped with either plastic or stainless-steel bowl covers that shield the entire bowl from misuse and contamination. The see-through plastic allows for quick and easy visual inspection and the hinging mechanism provides a more secure hold. The fixture is activated as the cover is opened and may be installed on barrier-free fixtures.
One of the newer eye/face wash models comes equipped with a self-draining design that eliminates any settled water in the system. This model also incorporates separate supply and waste