Nearly one million Americans have lost some degree of their sight due to an eye injury. More than 700,000 Americans injure their eyes at work each year. Luckily, 90% of all workplace eye injuries can be avoided by using proper safety eyewear.

Here are 10 ways you can help prevent an eye injury in your workplace:

Assess -Look carefully at plant operations. Inspect all work areas, access routes, and equipment for hazards to eyes. Study eye accident and injury reports. Identify operations and areas the present eye hazards.

Test -  Uncorrected vision problems can cause accidents. Provide vision testing during routine employee physical exams.

Protect -  Select protective eyewear that is designed for the specific duty or hazard. Protective eyewear must meet the current standards from the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and later revisions.

Participate -Create a 100% mandatory program for eye protection in all operation areas of your plant. A broad program prevents more injuries and is easier to enforce than one that limits eye protection to certain departments, areas, or jobs.

Fit -Workers need protective eyewear that fits well and is comfortable. Have eyewear fitted by an eye care professional or someone trained to do this. Provide repairs for eyewear and require each worker to be in charge of his or her own gear.

Plan for an Emergency -Set up first-aid procedures for eye injuries. Have eyewash stations that are easy to get to, especially where chemicals are used. Train workers in basic first-aid and identify those with more advanced training.

Educate -Conduct ongoing educational programs to create, keep up, and highlight the need for protective eyewear. Add eye safety to your regular employee training programs and to new employee orientation.

Support -Management support is key to having a successful eye safety program. Management can show their support for the program by wearing protective eyewear whenever and wherever needed.

Review -Regularly review and update your accident prevention policies. Your goal should be NO eye injuries or accidents!

Put it in Writing -Once your safety program is created, put it in writing. Display a copy of the policy in work and employee gathering areas. Include a review of the policy in new employee orientation.

Source: Prevent Blindness
www.preventblindness.org

About Prevent Blindness

Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness touches the lives of millions of people each year.

Our mission: to Prevent Blindness and Preserve Sight

We screen. We check the eyes of millions of children and adults each year. Our vision screenings help preschoolers at risk of vision loss from lazy eye (amblyopia), school children who depend on good vision for learning, and adults threatened by glaucoma and other serious vision problems.

We educate. We get the word out on better eye health through brochures, fact sheets, public service announcements, newsletters, media campaigns, special events, the web and social media. Every year more than 120 million people read, hear or see our messages about early detection of eye disease and prevention of accidents that can cause permanent loss of sight.

We advocate. We work with government officials at the state, local and national levels - building grassroots advocacy movements and institutional partnerships that will improve our nation's public health policies.

We support groundbreaking vision research. We support the work of scientists who will find tomorrow's cures for the eye diseases that threaten Americans with vision loss and blindness.

We train. We train and certify adult and children's vision screeners and screening instructors through the only national program of its kind, providing 20,000 vision screening personnel with the skills they need to help people in their communities.

We are in your community today. We improve the quality of life for hundreds of thousands through our community programs. Our website, www.preventblindness.org and our Prevent Blindness Vision Health resource Center (1-800-331-2020) put us within reach of anyone with Internet access or a telephone.