Ryan Pfund is senior product manager, emergency fixtures, for Bradley Corporation of Menomonee Falls, Wis., a USGBC member and manufacturer of locker room products, plumbing fixtures, washroom accessories, partitions and emergency fixtures.
Imagine a work setting with all the latest and greatest eye washes and safety showers installed in every area that poses an exposure risk with easy and unobstructed access.
Emergency eyewash systems and drench showers should be easy to access and readily available with tepid water. But as many safety facility managers will attest, these potentially life-saving fixtures aren’t always easy to provide in locations where they are required.
Safety managers know the importance of correctly using eyewashes and safety showers to flush hazardous substances from one's eyes, face or body. They also know the true test of any safety program hinges on the level of a facility's preparedness before an emergency strikes.
How long would you shower in 40 or 50 degree water? A minute would feel like an eternity. Even if our health depended on it, most of us would stop well before rinsing for a full 15 minutes.
