Safety Tip of the Week – Eye Safety

Our eyes are one of our greatest assets. If we do not protect our eyes from injuries while at work, we could easily lose our sight.

The type of eye protection, safety glasses, goggles, or face shields, must meet the requirements of the of OSHA and ANSI Z87.

Best Practices to Avoid Injuries to the Eyes:

• Identify all the potential eye hazards in your work area and for your specific work tasks.
  • Ensure there are proper safeguards in place to prevent an eye injury. If there is a safeguard missing, stop the work task and correct the problem;

• Eliminate or lessen the chance of getting something into your eye by avoiding being in the line of fire. One quick example is standing upwind of debris or dust blowing around the work area;
• Always wear approved safety glasses, face shield, or goggles when needed. The type of PPE needed will depend on the work task. Three out of every five victims of eye injuries on the job were not wearing any eye protection;
• If there are welding activities going on, wear proper eye protection and ensure there is a protective barrier in place to protect other employees in the area from UV exposure;
• If you get something in your eye do not rub or scratch it. Rubbing the eye can cause scratching of the cornea resulting in injury. Find an eye wash station or saline bottle to rinse out the object; and
• If you get a chemical in your eyes, remove your contacts if they are in and begin to rinse your eyes out.

EYES ARE PRICELESS…EYE PROTECTION IS CHEAP!!