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Eye Safety
June 2001
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics
estimates that eye injuries cost more than $300 million dollars
in lost production time, medical expenses and workers’
compensation. Over 1,000 eye injuries occur in the workplace
each day. We have seen a steady increase in eye injuries in
all of our Safety Groups over the past few years. That is
why we think it is critical that we make eye protection a
priority on our injury prevention list!
Written Program
Having a written program is not all that is needed. Your employees
need to be trained in your program, and vision protection
must be available and it must be used.
Not Wearing Personal Eye Protection?
If your employees aren’t wearing their Personal Eye Protection,
you’ll have to find out the root cause. Could it be a
language barrier? Have you informed them of all the workplace
hazards to which they can be exposed? Do they understand and
remember what they’ve been told? Does management support
the company policy for eye protection and have you applied
discipline to those who fail to comply? It could be as simple
as the vision protection you provide is uncomfortable to wear
for long periods of time.
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Seeing Eye Protection in a Different Light
After determining the root cause, you may have to retrain
your employees or provide another type of eye protection.
If the rate of injury continues to rise after doing all that,
then it may be one of the following:
• Personal Eye Protection is not appropriate for the
hazards.
• Side guards or shields are being removed.
• Personal Eye Protection doesn’t fit well or is
the wrong type.
After you determine the right protection for the hazards encountered
and have retrained your employees, you will want to be sure
that, when an eye injury occurs, everyone is prepared. Make
eye injury care a part of your safety program. Be sure that
emergency eye wash stations are adequate, current and close
to the hazards.
Many work-related eye injuries can be prevented through proper
training, company policy and use of the right Personal Eye
Protection. Refer to our Lovell Talk Topics (Lovell 52 and
Lovell 2000) for assistance with safety talks on eye protection.
Greg Perricone, Safety Consultant
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