Every year, thousands of employees are blinded from work-related eye injuries. Safety experts claim that wearing the correct eye protection can lessen the severity, and possibly even prevent, 90 percent of these injuries.
Common eye injuries include chemicals or foreign objects in the eye, and cuts or scrapes on the cornea. There are also cases, depending on industry, that include the following: splashes with grease or oil, steam burns, radiation exposure, and flying wood or metal chips.
Digital eye-strain is a further cause for concern for employees who work behind a computer all day. It is important to take regular breaks away from the screen.
The following protective eyewear should be worn depending on specific hazards:
- Safety glasses with side shields: When working in area that has flying particles such as dust and tiny objects like wood shavings.
- Goggles: When working with chemicals
- Face shields: When working near hazardous radiation, such as welding, lasers or fibre optics.
Most injuries occur when workers fail to use eye protection, or use the incorrect safety equipment for the job. It is important to provide adequate training on the specific safety eyewear allocated for each hazard and how it is used correctly.
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