“I’ve always worn safety glasses, and I like the newer styles because they look sporty, yet give me protection. [If I hadn’t been wearing them] on that day, I would have definitely lost an eye. So from now on, I’ll always wear my safety glasses. And I strongly recommend that others do the same.”

Like this worker whose eyes were spared thanks to his protective eyewear, most of the time in an industrial incident, you don’t even see “it” coming — before it’s too late.

Cautions about wearing eye protection are nothing new. It’s common knowledge that hazards to the eyes can be found in most industries, and OSHA standards require that employers provide workers with appropriate eye protection that is properly fitted. Safety eyewear helps prevent injuries from anything ranging from blows to the eye, surface wounds or abrasions, and even dust.

With better fitting, more effective, more comfortable, and more stylish protective eyewear more readily available and inexpensive today than ever before, there really is no excuse for workers suffering eye injuries because they weren’t wearing their safety glasses. Don’t let your workers take their vision for granted. Even minor mishaps to the human eye can cause many ongoing problems.

A doctor’s view

“However,” he cautions, “workers should be careful of all hazards in the work area. We see workers who incur such injuries from a multi-group setting. One welder finishes his job and removes his eye protection, but other welders are still working, and he is injured by the hazards of another’s work in progress.”

“Overall, because many workers are wearing some form of eyewear, we’ve treated fewer penetrating eye injuries. Still, at least once or twice weekly in the emergency room, we treat eye injuries involving a metal foreign body on the cornea (clear, protective outer covering of eye).

“Most eye injuries that persist are due to inadequate protection and/or noncompliance with standards, especially in the areas of manufacturing and vehicle repair, and wherever there is grinding or pounding of metal. Too often, workers fail to protect their eyes from overhead hazards, such as a car on a rack.”

Reportedly, the majority of eye injuries for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters are caused by a foreign object entering the eye. Injuries occurred while working overhead, soldering or welding, grinding metal, painting, or working with pressurized pipes.

Dr. Happ suggests that employers and their employees collaborate to analyze job tasks and/or the work day and consider three things: the materials and tools worked with; the positions worked in (angle to eye); and the work space/environment, with regard to other workers.

What’s the hazard?