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Posted By Steve Conway
Our main site has a number of large laboratories which include work with chemicals, and engineering type activities, many of which present a risk of eye injury and require the wearing of eye protection.
I have been asked to look at establishing laboratories as eye protection areas where the wearing of eye protection would be mandatory.
My justification for this would be that the activities present a reasonably foreseeable risk to the eyes of those not involved in the activities. In addition to controlling the risk it is also easier to ensure complaince.
I am interested to hear from those with experience/knowledge of similar situations and the principles and practices adopted for establishing eye protection areas.
Thanks Steve (steven.conway@advanticatech.com)
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Posted By Diane Warne
Steve,
In a company I used to work for we established labs as eye protection areas. You have hit the nail on the head with "the activities present a reasonably foreseeable risk to the eyes of those not involved in the activities" - this is a pretty watertight reason. We (well, I) took the proposal (loudly) to our Safety Committee who agreed it should be implemented. The policy was written and a director's signature obtained - so no arguing - it's Company policy! The PPE Regs of course have to be complied with when you implement the policy. There was a bit of resistance at first but eventually it worked well. It was simple to implement - from a certain date all labs to be eye protection areas - managers to ensure all staff are provided with eye protection - arrangements made for those who need prescription eye protection - signs erected on lab doors - visitors' safety specs placed in dispensers outside each lab, so people had no excuse to "pop in" without specs.
Now for the question - does anyone, especially colleagues in universities or colleges, have any examples of eye injuries that could have been prevented by using eye protection, or near-misses that could have been nasty if eye protection had not been worn? Incidents involving chemicals and in "perceived low risk" areas would be of particular interest. Also, can anyone tell me where I can find eye injury statistics for the UK? I've found only US data on the Web.
Thanks
Diane Warne
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Posted By Laurie
Diane
I have a few FE cases on record - "Placed plant pot on head - grit came out and entered eye" (and you think you've got problems!)", "Plastering - failed to use goggles - foreign body in eye", "Welding - struck in eye by flying debris - source unknown", "Sprayed adhesive in his eye", "General cleaning - nozzle came off spray bottle - fell to floor and splashed contents", "Electrician - stripping cable - material in eyes (3 cases, two to the same person - tradesman not student)", Splashed thinners in eye - no PPE", Stood near someone chipping stone - chip entered eye"
Hope thses help
Laurie
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Posted By Jay Joshi
Diane,
The most comprehensive source for UK health and safety statistics is the annual "Health and Safety Statistics" published by National Statistics and HSC. This 200 odd page annual publication has comprehensive statistics. It can be obtained from HSE Books, but a bit pricey for limited use. (£17.50). The HSE Statistics Unit in Bootle may provide the data for induvidual requests.
Unfortunately, there isnt very comprehensive statistical data on the HSE website, in terms of SIC classification and data for induvidual industries that users may be interested in, but the case for that could be a seperate discussion!!
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Rank: Guest
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Posted By Ron Young
Steve,
Remember to ensure that you chose the correct appliances for the labs. Safety spectacles are normally chosen for ejection type hazards, indirectly vented goggles would probably be a safer option for labs.
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