Eye injuries in the workplace are very common. More than 2,000 people injure their eyes at work each day. About 1 in 10 injuries require one or more missed workdays to recover from. Of the total amount of work-related injuries, 10-20 percent will cause temporary or permanent vision loss.

Experts believe that the right eye protection could have lessened the severity or even prevented 90% of eye injuries in accidents.

What are the common causes of workplace eye injuries?

• Flying objects (bits of metal, glass)
• Tools
• Particles
• Chemicals
• Harmful radiation
• Any combination of these or other hazards

There are three things you can do to help prevent an eye injury:

• Know the eye safety dangers at work-complete an eye hazard assessment
• Eliminate hazards before starting work. Use machine guarding, work screens, or other engineering controls)v
• Use proper eye protection.

When should i protect my eyes at work?

You should wear safety eyewear whenever there is a chance of eye injury. Anyone working in or passing through areas that pose eye hazards should wear protective eyewear.

Safety eyewear protection includes:

• Non-prescription and prescription safety glasses
• Goggles
• Face shields
• Welding helmets
• Full-face respirators

What type of safety eye protection should i wear?

The type of safety eye protection you should wear depends on the hazards in your workplace. If you are working in an area that has particles, flying objects, or dust, you must at least wear safety glasses with side protection (side shields). If you are working with chemicals, you should wear goggles. If you are working near hazardous radiation (welding, lasers, or fiber optics) you must use special-purpose safety glasses, goggles, face shields, or helmets designed for that task.

Source: Prevent Blindness www.preventblindness.org