Posted By David A Jones I'd love to hear the argument in the court case after someone has injured themselves because you said it was ok to do the task without seeing what they were doing!!

Posted By Tom Clark Must be one of those vital jobs which needs doing whilst some of the plant is still operating. Weigh up the cost of the possible compensation and court costs, the down time of plant and then think the cost of these special specs. No Contest! Have you thought of choice of operator? Have you thought of contact lenses? Regards - Tom

Posted By Nicola Malpas Case referred to above was Paris v Stepney Borough Council where Paris was blind in one eye but did not tell his employer. They discovered the fact at a medical however continued to let him work servicing buses. In accordance with Sod's Law (!) he was blinded in his good eye whilst working shortly afterwards. It was held that the Council owed a higher standard of care (having known about the disability) and should have enforced eye protection.... I'm fresh out of Dip1 can you tell!

Posted By Pat Hannaway It is something of a myth that you cannot wear spectacles with Breathing Apparatus. We have approx. 1000 staff in our organisation who have been issued with breathing apparatus (short term working and rescue sets and also "escape" sets. We use a combination of Draeger and Sabre compressed air B.A. sets. Facemasks can be bought which have recesses for spectacle frames (supplied by both manufacturers). We pay for those staff who need to wear glasses with their B.A. to have eye tests (towhich they bring their B.A. masks and spectacle frames. It is an inconvenience and extra expense, but compared to the possible outcomes, it is money well spent. Check with your PPE supplier or one of the major B.A. manufacturers. Regards Pat Hannaway

Posted By Merv Newman Masks which allow spectacles to be worn are ok so long as the protection factor is not compromised. Depends on the probable maximum concentration of whatever it is in the air. I'm not too happy with loose air supplied masks or hoods since I worked in a uranium mine where the masks were standard equipment for all underground workers. Every mask I looked at was dusty on the inside. I think movements of the head and body can create a sort of bellows effect which might overcome the volume of supplied air. But then, what do I know ? I do strongly recommend them for protection against "inert" particles or dust that you want to keep out of eyes and hair (foundry grinders, for example)

Posted By Stuart Nagle Garyh. 1) If you send personnel into an atmosphere that requires BA to be worn (A Confined Space). firstly you need to ensure compliance with the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997. 2) If BA wearers need to wear glasses, the face seal of a full face BA Mask will be compromised by the spectacles protruding out of the mask (where they rest over the ears. To ameliorate this problem, ori-nasal units for face masks (the bit that fits over the mouth and nose within a face mask) were developed so that glasses could be clipped onto the top of the unit - hence glasses wearers could wear glasses and face masks without the face seal being compromised. The ori-nasal units will be available from the BA/Face Mask Manufacturers... 3) As a glasses wearer myself (for reading and close up work) and a BA wearer on occassions, I can tell you that for certain tasks, glasses will be necessary - As you get older you will probably find out for yourself!! So ensure that if you personnel wear glasses and you want them to do the work - and they need to wear their glasses to do it - you supply the right kit to enable them to do it safely!! 4) There may be options.... What are your personnel being exposed to, is there a safe alternative to the use of BA and a full face mask that will provide adequate protection and enable easier working conditions? - full face masks are not fun to work in.... Check it out.... The term is risk assessment and suitable and sufficient control measures.... Regards... Stuart

Posted By Tom Fripp Could you send me more information as to the circumstances that your workers do not wish to wear goggles in? I am working on a projet along these lines and wnat to gather information on the use of PPE, especially in the head area. TF

Posted By Stuart Nagle GaryH informed me by direct email that the hazard is benzyene, and the work to be performed is working on pipe joints. Gary does not think the confined spaces regulations apply as the work area is not enclosed, and as he states, that people can enter a confined space without BA.... I have not been able to reply to Gary directly as his company email will not accept external emails.... In response to your email Gary.... The confined spaces regulations 1997 define a confined space as 'any place' and are recognised by the presence of a reasonably foreseeable specificed risk, of which fume and vapour are included as is a lack of oxygen. Whilst the confined spaces regulations were predominantly intended for work in enclosed or partially enclosed spaces, it does not exclude working areas that are not enclosed, for example within a plant or even in the open air. I think you could do worse than to follow the advice provided in the confined spaces regulations in respect of this work, and by following the advice of the ACoP and guidance within the regulations, you would not go far wrong. Regards... Stuart

Posted By IanD If they need glasses you must provide them with suitable BA glasses. You will not get a proper seal with ordinary glasses. I have worn BA without glasses, it is not only the work that’s a problem, but also walking to the area of work, evacuating in the event of an emergency, and actually carrying out the work with impaired vision introduces hazards. Anyone who says that work can be done safely has neither worn glasses or a BA set. Bite the bullet and purchase suitable glasses. If need be limit the amount of BA maintenance to a small number of nominated employees, but be careful not to discriminate against employees with poor eyesight. Regards Ian