Protecting Your Eyes and Ears
 May. 4, 2010

Injuries to the eyes are often permanent. That is why employers need to remain vigilant in protecting their employees from eye injuries. Researchers believe that each day over 2,000 people suffer eye injuries at work. Your employees have only one pair of eyes. Help them take care of them.

Why is Eye Safety So Important?
The workplace is a leading cause of eye trauma, loss of vision, disability, and
blindness. Of the 2,000 employees who sustain a job-related eye injury daily,
approximately 10 to 20 percent will be disabled due to a temporary or permanent loss of vision. Most experts believe that proper eye protection could have reduced the severity of or prevented the injury in about 90 percent of these cases.

Eye injuries can range from minor burns, cuts, and abrasion to total blindness. Key sources of injury are:

• Welding equipment, as well as using other sorts of power tools and machinery, creates the largest exposure to injury.
• Chemicals such as acids and adhesives are also a concern. They can splash into the eyes and cause serious damage.
• Particulate matter from hammering or grinding can easily fly into the eyes.

Wear Proper Eye Protection
The first step to preventing any injury in the workplace is to be aware of the
hazards. If possible, eliminate those hazards or reduce them by using proper eye
protection. There’s a wide variety of safety eyewear including safety glasses, goggles, face shields, welding helmets, and full-face respirators. Employers should choose which one best protects workers from the particular hazards in a specific workplace.

First Aid
In the event of an eye injury, employees need to know where the eye wash fountain is so they can clean their eyes as a first aid measure as quickly as possible. But, always follow-up with medical treatment as soon as possible.

Workers should have their eyes examined on a regular basis to ensure their vision is good enough to do their job safely. And, always make using personal protective equipment (PPE) a safety requirement to protect your employee’s eyes.

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