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Posted By pudsy
Good day,
Yesterday I observed a designated coworker changing the water in our emergence portable eye wash stations.
Two units in my shop were changed, on walking by the washroom I observed the individual refilling the eye wash bottles with water from a hose from the janitor's sink used to fill the cleaners mop bucket.
As the cleanliness and sanitary issues are obvious, can someone advise what possible bacteria or health issues I can raise and are there any regulations on refilling these bottles?
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Posted By Paul Leadbetter
Pudsy
I am no medic but I have always thought that eyewash had to be sterile before use so refilling the bottles, from anywhere never mind a janitor's sink, should not be happening.
Paul
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Posted By Coshh Assessor
Normally eye wash bottles are sealed to keep the water sterile, and once the seal has been broken, they are not supposed to be used again. They also normally have a use-by date on them, again to assure sterility.
What sort of bottles are these?
It's acceptable to use tap water for eye irrigation, but leaving water standing around doesn't sound right.
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Posted By Coshh Assessor
I can't seem to find the relevant document online, but what you need is section 36 of the First Aid at Work Approved Code of Practice (reference L74) which more or less says what I did above about using either mains tap water or bottles (sealed and not reused) of sterile water.
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Posted By Paul Leadbetter
Coshh
Pudsy appears to be located in Canada so that document may not be the most appropriate.
Paul
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Posted By Coshh Assessor
Indeed. This is a UK site so if someone asks about regulations, then unless they specify somewhere else I assume they mean UK regulations ...
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Posted By Les Welling
I agree with COSHH Assessor. We throw ours away once they have been opened and the seal is broken.
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Posted By pudsy
All,
Thank you for your responses and advice, I have looked through some Canadian Occupational Health and Safety regulations without locating anything specific.
For those wondering why I posted here in the UK, this site is the only Safety forum I could locate where I felt I could get objective and educated replies.
I will go with common sense and pass my concerns up our chain of command until I get the desired results.
Cheers,
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