Why Emergency Eyewash and Safety Shower Stations Matter
Anytime there is an area where chemicals are being handled, or there is the potential for airborne materials or projectiles, there is the potential for workers to get a substance or object into their eyes or on their skin. This can result in pain and the inability to focus vision, as well as irritation and possible damage to exposed skin areas.
The most important step against skin and eye damage is the prevention or elimination of the hazard; however, this may not always be possible. If there is chemical or foreign body contact with the eyes or skin, immediate flushing or rinsing is often the best action to take. This is why emergency eyewash and safety shower equipment is invaluable for this purpose, and why it is a core part of any workplace safety program.
OSHA Requirements for Eyewash Stations
When there is the possibility that a material can be splashed, blown, or shot into a worker’s eyes, employers are required to install working eyewash stations. Under OSHA’s 29 CFR 1910.151 standard, these devices must be located in a reasonable vicinity of where an injured worker could reach the equipment within ten seconds of contact with the chemical or foreign object. The eye wash stations also must be highly visible, clearly marked, and easily accessible with pathways free of clutter and other impediments.
Primary vs. Secondary Eyewash Units
Eyewash stations can be either primary or secondary eyewash units. Primary units are required to deliver at least fifteen minutes of free-flowing fluid, which is the amount of time generally needed to remove most objects from the eye. There are primary units designed in both permanently plumbed and portable formats. Portable units have a self-contained liquid source, and the plumbed units are permanently connected to a water line. Primary units are also installed for hands-free operation, so workers’ hands are free to care for their injured eyes or to hold their eyelids back so that the water can adequately rinse the entire eye surface.
Secondary units are intended to support the use of the primary unit, and they supply a much lower level of flushing fluid. They are intended to get the injured employee from the point of injury to a primary unit eyewash to allow fifteen minutes of flushing. Examples of these units are the irrigation bottles that are usually mounted in areas to save the employee the time of travel to get to a primary unit. The proper method for flushing the eye is to hold the eyelids back, allowing the water stream to touch the cornea itself, holding this position for fifteen minutes to ensure all materials are washed away.
How Safety Showers Work
Safety showers are designed to flush the entire body when activated. To use an employee correctly, one must thoroughly rinse for fifteen minutes and make sure that all contaminants are washed off. Clothing that is contaminated must be removed and disposed of properly.
Inspection, Testing, and Training
Once installed, eyewash stations and safety showers must be regularly inspected, tested, and maintained to ensure they will work in the manner required when an emergency occurs. Industry guidance from the ANSI/ISEA Z358.1 standard recommends activating plumbed units weekly to verify proper flow and flushing fluid quality, and performing a full annual inspection of every emergency eyewash and safety shower station on site.
Additionally, workers who have the potential to use either of these pieces of equipment must be trained on the operation and location of them so they will know where to go and how to use them should they have a need to flush their eyes or shower off a contaminant.
Eyewash stations and safety showers are a good example of the lower rungs of the hierarchy of controls, stepping in only after other safeguards fail. Pairing this kind of emergency equipment with sound habits for reducing electrical fire risk is part of building the kind of safety mindset that protects workers on every job.
This piece on eyewash and safety shower stations is part of Formetco’s ongoing content series. Read more of Formetco’s coverage on eyewash and safety shower stations and related topics.