Eye and Face Protection

OSHA requires eye and face protective equipment where there is a reasonable probability of preventing injury when such equipment is used. Employers must provide a type of protector suitable for work to be performed and employees must use the protectors. These stipulations also apply to supervisors and management personnel, and should apply to visitors while they are in hazardous areas.

BLS studies have found that about 60% of workers who suffered eye injuries were not wearing eye protective equipment. Suitable eye protection must be provided where there is a potential for eye injury from machines, flying objects, glare, liquids, injurious radiation, or a combination of these. Protectors must meet the following minimum requirements.

• Must provide adequate protection against the particular hazards for which they are designed.
• Be reasonably comfortable when worn under the designated conditions.
• Fit snugly without interfering with the movements or vision of the wearer.
• Be durable.
• Be capable of being disinfected.
• Be easily cleanable.
• Be kept clean and in good repair.

OSHA and the National Society to Prevent Blindness recommend that emergency eyewashes be placed in all hazardous locations. First-aide instructions should be posted close to potential danger spots since any delay to immediate aid or an early mistake in dealing with an eye injury can result in lasting damage.

Each eye, face, or face and eye protector is designed for a particular hazard. In selecting the protector, consideration should be given to the kind and degree of hazard, and the protector should be selected on that basis.

Persons using corrective spectacles and those who are required by OSHA to wear eye protection must wear face shields, goggles, or spectacles with protective lenses providing optical correction.