If you get sawdust, cement dust, metal shavings, fireproofing dust, or drywall dust in your eyes, you might experience irritation, severe pain, or injury, or you could lose your sight. Almost all construction projects require eye protection, but anyone working in the industry should always wear eye protection. People working in construction sustain eye injuries every day that require medical attention. There are far too many eye injuries on construction sites like this one.
Some form of risk planning should be completed daily to identify the hazards and controls for the work we will be doing. This will help select the proper and necessary eye protection. Regardless of the task, you should always wear safety glasses on any project. However, some of your tasks may call for added protection from safety Google, face shields, or combinations. Look at your company’s Job Hazard Analysis for guidance.
Safety glasses shield you from impact hazards such as flying fragments, large chips, and particles.
Safety goggles are designed to fit the face immediately surrounding the eyes and form a protective seal around the eyes. They prevent objects from chemical splashes from entering under or around the goggles.
Welding shields or goggles are designed to filter radiant energy and protect your eyes from hitting slag.
Each type of eye and face protection equipment is designed for a particular hazard. When you select your eye and face protection, consider the types and degrees of hazards you will be facing.
- Following is a list of hazards and a recommended form of eye and face protection for each:
- Drilling overhead (impact hazard): wear safety glasses and a face shield.
- Applying curing compound (chemical hazard): wear safety glasses or chemical goggles, consult the product SDS.
- Wear safety glasses and a face shield using a pressure washer (particle and chemical hazard).
- Wear cutting/welding goggles using a cutting torch (optical radiation and particle hazard): wear cutting/ welding goggles.
- Welding steel pipe (optical radiation): wear safety glasses and a welding shield.
Remember that safety glasses should be required while on a job site, but other forms of eye protection may be required. Safety glasses only work when you wear them. They do not work on your hard hat, hanging around your neck, or in your lunch box.
What are some of the hazards that require eye or face protection where you work? Leave a comment below.
