Page 16 - May 2018 - December 2018 Issue

Safety 101:

Protecting Your Eyes

By RJ Camano, QESH

According to the US Department Labor, every day, an estimated 1,000 eye injuries occur in American
workplaces. The financial cost of these injuries is enormous–more than $300 million per year in lost
production time, medical expenses, and workers compensation. No dollar figure can adequately reflect
the personal toll these accidents take on the injured workers. 60% of all eye injuries happen in the
workplace and about 95% of eye injuries are the result of carelessness and lack of attention.

What contributes to eye injuries at work?

One reason, not wearing eye protection. Statistics shows that nearly three out of every five workers
injured were not wearing eye protection at the time of the accident. Another, is wearing the wrong kind
of eye protection for the job. About 40 of the injured workers were wearing some form of eye protection
when the accident occurred. People don’t realize that an eye can be destroyed in a fraction of a second.
What are the common causes of eye injuries?

Flying Objects. Almost 70% of the accidents studied are resulted from flying or falling objects or sparks
striking the eye. Injured workers estimated that nearly three-fifths of the objects were smaller than a pin
head. Most of the particles were said to be traveling faster than a hand-thrown object when the accident
occurred.

Contact with chemicals caused one-fifth of the injuries. Other accidents were caused by objects
swinging from a fixed or attached position, like tree limbs, ropes, chains, or tools which were pulled into
the eye while the worker was using them.

How can we prevent eye injuries?
Always wear effective eye protection. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) standards
requires that employers to provide their workers with suitable eye protection. To be effective, the
eyewear must be in the appropriate type of hazard/s encountered and properly fitted. Survey showed
that 94% of the injuries to workers not wearing eye protection are resulted from flying objects or contact
with hazardous chemicals.

Proper Training/Awareness and Education of the rules, that is: (1) do not enter hazardous areas or
perform work without wearing general or task – specific personal protective equipment (PPE); (2)
observe posted PPE requirements; (3) protective equipment must be in good condition and maintained;
and (3) carefully inspect the PPE. The rules concerning PPE must be clearly defined and disseminated.

What can you do?
■ Take a commonsense approach to hazardous activities and work out to eliminate and control potential
eye hazards.
■ Wear appropriate eye protection required. Don’t wear glasses or sunglasses as a substitute for proper
eye protection.
■ Have a vision test to ensure your vision is optimal for your particular work.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor Program Highlights Fact Sheet No. OSHA 92-03

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