Toolbox Talk: An Eye Injury Lesson

AN EYE INJURY LESSON

Devastating eye injuries occur more frequently than you may think. Hazards from steam, grinding debris, chemical splashes and blunt force trauma can injure our eyes and damage our eyesight. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect is that 90 percent of these eye injuries can be prevented by the use of proper eye protection. Eye hazards can be found on nearly every jobsite; some examples include chemical splash hazards, harmful light or general flying debris.

EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITY TO WEAR EYE PROTECTION
Your company has evaluated the specific hazards of the areas you will be working in and has provided you with the appropriate eye protection. While your company has purchased the necessary protective eyewear, it is your responsibility to wear it. Eye protection doesn’t work if you don’t have it on. Employees who neglect to wear their eye protection are far more likely to suffer an eye injury. Even if you are just passing through an area where eye hazards are present, you still must wear the appropriate protection. Many severe eye injuries are suffered by pedestrians who simply walk through hazardous work sites or are working nearby.

SELECTION & INSPECTION OF EYEWEAR
Before beginning any job task, we must understand what hazards are present and select the appropriate protection.
This equipment must also be in good condition and fitted properly. Inspect your protective eyewear for any defects, such as scratched lenses, cracks or broken parts. If you discover any problems, replace them or have them repaired.
Safety glasses provide a good starting point against eye injuries, but sometimes safety glasses just aren’t enough.
Where there is a potential for splashing chemicals, high-pressure liquids or gases, large amounts of flying particles or areas where debris falls from overhead, you will need additional protection in the form of safety goggles.

Safety goggles provide more protection than safety glasses because they create a complete seal around the wearer’s eyes to keep out hazardous materials. While goggles do provide more protection for your eyes than safety glasses, they do not provide much protection for your face. Many jobs such as chipping and grinding or chemical line-breaking require a combination of safety eyewear and a face shield. Always remember that a face shield is designed to protect the face and is not designed to provide adequate eye protection. A face shield should never be used alone; it must always be used in conjunction with safety glasses or goggles.

JASON’S INJURY
Maintenance worker Jason was checking a clogged ammonia line that fed into a production tank at the plant. The job entailed blanking the line and then cleaning the valves to clear the blockage. Because he couldn’t see clearly through the scratched lenses of his safety goggles, he laid them down beside his toolbox and proceeded with the job wearing only his safety glasses. He also had forgotten to bring his face shield and didn’t think it was worth the time to go back to his locker and get it. For unknown reasons, the line was still pressurized when he loosened the bolt to the valve and ammonia spewed into his face and eyes.

As Jason screamed for help and searched for an eyewash station, co-worker Mike ran to him and helped him find it.
Five critical minutes passed between the time of the pressure release and the moment Mike found Jason. After his eyes were flushed for 15 minutes, Jason was taken to the hospital where his family and fellow employees waited to hear about his condition. He suffered corneal burns, a scratched iris and a torn outer lens to both eyes, according to the attending physician.

After his injuries were treated, his eyes were bandaged and he was told they would have to wait several weeks to determine if his blindness was permanent. The weeks following Jason’s incident were gruelling with a lot of questions, worries and despair, his wife said. After all, what would they do if he was blind?

The physician had told Jason’s family that he would suffer some permanent damage, but they would have to see how Jason responded to his treatment to be sure how the injuries would affect his vision. On the day they took his bandages off, unfortunately, they discovered that Jason had lost his eyesight permanently. “I still live with the fact that I could have prevented this from happening to me,” Jason would say later. “It is hard being in complete darkness all the time. It is something you never want to experience,” he continued. “After all, that’s why you wear eye protection.”

LESSONS FROM JASON’S INJURY
• Always understand the hazards present for each and every job task and select the appropriate protection.
Jason’s safety glasses didn’t prevent the chemical from entering his eyes; the required goggles and face shield would have minimized his injuries.
• Don’t make the mistake of thinking that “it’s too much trouble” or “it takes too much time” to protect your eyes from hazards.
Jason’s decision to work without his face shield because it would take too long to go get it cost him dearly.
• Clean and store your protection properly after each shift. Had Jason done this instead of storing his goggles in his toolbox, the lenses may not have become scratched and he wouldn’t have removed them to see better.
• Responding to an eye injury needs to be done as fast as possible.
Five critical minutes elapsed between the chemical pressure release and Jason’s arrival at the eyewash station; those five minutes may have made the difference between temporary and permanent blindness.
• If the incident involves a chemical, gas or fumes, get to an eyewash station and flush your eyes for at least 15 minutes. Even if your eyes feel better right away, continue flushing for the full 15 minutes.
• If the incident involves flying debris or a particle that gets lodged into the eyes, never rub the eyes or remove it yourself.
Loosely cover the area and seek medical attention immediately; most often, trying to remove the particle yourself causes more damage than leaving it and seeking the proper medical attention

Ref: www.eri-safety.com

“Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” -Thomas Paine

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